LONDON (AP) - The parents of Charlie Gard, whose battle to get their critically ill baby experimental treatment stirred international sympathy and controversy, dropped their legal effort Monday, saying tearfully it was time to let their son die.
At an emotional court hearing, a lawyer for the baby's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, said the couple was withdrawing a bid to have Charlie sent to the United States, where a doctor had offered to try to treat his rare genetic condition.
The decision came after new medical tests showed the 11-month-old, who has brain damage and cannot breathe unaided, had irreversible muscular damage.
Both parents wept in the packed courtroom at the High Court in London as lawyer Grant Armstrong made the announcement, his voice breaking.
"This case is now about time," Armstrong said. "Sadly, time has run out."
Outside court, Chris Gard said Charlie "won't make his first birthday in just under two weeks' time."
"We are about to do the hardest thing that we will ever have to do, which is to let our beautiful little Charlie go," he said.
Gard and Yates, who are in their 30s and from London, have fought ferociously for their son, who was born in August 2016 with mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a rare genetic disease.
The baby has been treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, one of the world's leading children's hospitals. Doctors there said Charlie is in pain and further treatment would only increase his suffering. They have sought permission from the courts to switch off his life support and allow him to die peacefully. His parents resisted, arguing an experimental treatment could extend and improve Charlie's life.
On Monday, the Vatican said Pope Francis was praying for Charlie and his parents, and urged the faithful to join him in prayer so the baby's parents "may find God's consolation and love.
Passions have often run high, with activists demanding "justice for Charlie" rallying outside the High Court and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Over the weekend, the hospital said it had contacted police after staff received abuse and threats.
Charlie's parents condemned the abuse, and Monday thanked the hospital for the care it had given their child.