Parents of Isaiah Haastrup will take son’s case to ECHR

Isaiah was born at King’s College Hospital in London last February and suffered brain damage after a medical emergency meant he was deprived of oxygen during his birth.

His mother Takesha Thomas had to undergo an emergency Caesarean after her womb ruptured, and Isaiah was delivered with no heartbeat and not breathing and had to be resuscitated.

An expert paediatric neurologist said he was ‘as near to death as it is possible to get’ and the High Court heard the lack of oxygen caused a ‘catastrophic’ level of brain damage which left him profoundly disabled.

Doctors said he needed a ventilator to breathe, could not move independently or respond to stimulus and had a ‘low level of consciousness’.

If he had any awareness of pain or pleasure he was likely to be experiencing pain, the court was told.

Doctors suggested taking him off life support six days after his birth, after tests revealed the damage to his brain.

Miss Thomas, 36, told the court she accepted Isaiah was severely disabled but insisted she was willing to care for him for the rest of his life. She told the court her faith as a Pentecostal Christian meant she believed God should decide who lived or died.

She said Isaiah responded to her voice and touch, and to his favourite cuddly toy or cartoons. 

Isaiah has remained on life support at King’s College Hospital and a judge previously said there had been a breakdown in trust between the parents and his medical team.

Mr Haastrup, a lawyer, said Isaiah’s brain damage was the fault of medical failings during his birth and the family launched a separate legal action against the hospital for alleged clinical negligence.  



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