Who Is Victoria Butler-Cole? Lawyer Representing Terminally-Ill Charlie Gard Heads Assisted Dying Charity

Terminally-ill Charlie Gard’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates expressed their discontent after learning the lawyer representing their toddler in court is the chairman of a charitable organization that backs assisted dying, it was reported.

Victoria Butler-Cole of 39 Essex Chambers, who represents Charlie in the case, is the chairman of “Compassion for Dying,” a charity organization which informs and empowers people about their end-of-life rights through a big lottery-funded advocacy project.

Read: Charlie Gard Update: US Hospital Offers Experimental Drug To Treat Terminally-Ill Baby In London

Compassion for Dying is also a sister organization of the “Dignity In Dying” group, which has been campaigning to bring a change in the law and make assisted dying legal in the U.K.

According to a Telegraph report, a source close to the Gard family said, “The family finds it astonishing that the quango that appointed the barrister to act in the interests of Charlie Gard is the chairman of Compassion in Dying, the sister body of Dignity in Dying, formerly known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. The implication is obvious. It looks like a profound conflict of interest.”

Butler-Cole herself declined to comment on the matter while the court case was still in progress. However, expressing their support for Butler-Cole, the Compassion for Dying charity said it would be wrong to establish a link between Butler-Cole representing Charlie in court and her personal views that adults with full mental capacity should be allowed to plan their own death, the report added.

“There are clear differences between this case, the work of Dignity in Dying and the work of Compassion in Dying. The Charlie Gard case is about making decisions in the best interests of a seriously ill child,” a representative of the charity said.

Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome that causes muscle weakness and loss of the ability to eat, walk, talk, and even breathe, has been kept on the life support system for more than eight months. His parents from Bedfont, London, have initiated various fundraising campaigns so they could take Charlie to the U.S. for an experimental treatment.

Read: Charlie Gard News: London Hospital Asks High Court For New Hearing Of Terminally Il Baby

Charlie meanwhile, underwent a brain scan Monday at the Great Ormond Street Hospital after Dr. Michio Hirano, a neurologist from Columbia University, offered to examine the 11-month old boy. Dr. Hirano said he will study Charlie’s case and go through other medical records before deciding whether the boy could benefit from the experimental treatment, the Sun reported. Hirano also said the experimental treatment has a 10 percent success rate.

Hirano said he believes the nucleoside therapy used in the experimental treatment could improve Charlie’s muscular strength and that there is a "small but significant" chance it would also help his brain functions, Express.co.uk reported.