Archie Battersbee, a British boy, was the subject of several court hearings between April and August 2022, regarding whether or not to withdraw his life support, after he was found unconscious and subsequently considered to have suffered brainstem death.

On 7 April 2022, a 12-year-old boy, Archie Battersbee,[1] from Southend, Essex, England, was found unconscious by his mother, Hollie Dance, with a dressing gown cord around his neck.

[2] The paramedics who attended found that Archie Battersbee had suffered a cardiac arrest and his Glasgow Coma Scale score was three, the lowest possible, indicating "no eye-opening, verbal or motor response".

[7] On 8 November 2022, during a pre-inquest hearing, the Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes said there was no evidence that Battersbee had been taking part in an online challenge.

On 26 April, the Barts Health NHS Trust made two applications to the High Court of Justice: one for a Specific Issue Order, under section 8 of the Children Act 1989, that it was lawful for Battersbee to undergo brainstem testing, in accordance with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ 2008 Code of Practice for the Diagnosis and Confirmation of Death, to establish whether he was brainstem dead.

A further party introduced to proceedings was Battersbee himself, represented by a guardian appointed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).

Battersbee's parents had argued that he "needed more time to heal", and that his own religious beliefs should be taken into account, his mother saying that "it is for God to decide what should happen to Archie, including if, when and how he should die.

Neena Modi, professor of neonatal medicine at Imperial College London, raised concerns over exploitation with openDemocracy and said that the Christian Legal Centre "preys upon [families like Archie's] when they are absolutely at their most vulnerable.

Legal affairs correspondent, Haroon Siddique, noted that: "recent years have brought increasing intervention by religious groups purporting to support parents but who have also been accused of inflaming tensions.

"[40] Siddique's analysis concluded that "The involvement of such third-party ideologues presents a significant obstacle to the laudable aim of resolving such sensitive cases in a less adversarial manner.

"[40] During court proceedings, a judge was told that James Duddridge, MP for the family's constituency, had written on their behalf to the Royal London Hospital on August 3.

"[41] A consultant paediatric neurologist told the court (via a written statement) that they were unaware of any treatment that could reverse the condition of Battersbee's brain.

[42]In June 2022, Conservative MP for Southend West Anna Firth asked her Twitter followers to donate to a GoFundMe page connected to the case in a tweet that read, "The whole House is behind Archie and his family.