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Alfie Evans’ Death Illustrates the Monstrous Logic of the Welfare State

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By The Federalist. Alfie Evans is dead. The 23-month-old boy died Saturday morning at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, England, five days after his life support was removed on orders from the United Kingdom’s High Court. There is no other way to understand the boy’s death than to say that the government of the United Kingdom decided he must die—against the wishes of his parents and against the pleas of the Vatican, the governments of Italy and Poland, and countless supporters throughout the world.

Together with the death of Charlie Gard last year, whom British authorities would not allow to be taken to the United States for an experimental treatment, Evans’ death seems to confirm British policy in such matters: children belong to the state, and when the state decides that they should die, they will die. . .

In that way, the boy’s death illustrates, in horrifying detail, the cold logic of the mature welfare state. The purpose of the welfare state is to exercise power over its subjects—and make no mistake, they are subjects, not citizens—and that’s it. Nothing more and nothing less.

That power is not exercised for anyone’s good, or for the good of the people at large, or even for some collective goal. It is exercised for its own sake. “Power is not a means; it is an end,” says O’Brien, the party official in George Orwell’s “1984,” as he tortures Winston. “One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.” . . .

Health and well-being are especially potent justifications for the welfare state’s use of power because they’re directly connected to the larger justification of the regime: welfare. The state wants you to be healthy, so it will set up a national health service. The state wants what is good for you, so it will compel you to participate in the national health service. The state is looking out for your best interests, even if you are not, so it will empower the national health service to make decisions for you and your children, against your will, if necessary. (Read more from “Alfie Evans’ Death Illustrates the Monstrous Logic of the Welfare State” HERE)

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Alfie Evans Was Given 4 Drugs Just Before He Died: Report

By Life Site News. UK toddler Alfie Evans allegedly died within hours of receiving four different drugs from a nurse at Alder Hey hospital, Italian media is reporting. The information that Alfie was given four injections has also been obtained by LifeSiteNews from two different sources with connections to the Evans family.

Alfie Evans died in Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital on Saturday morning at 2:30 AM. According to Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, a nurse entered the child’s cubicle after his father Tom had been called aside and gave him four drugs. A source close to the family told LifeSiteNews that these were injections that were administered to Alfie after Tom had been summoned for an unusual middle-of-the-night meeting with the hospital. The child died two hours later.

It remains unclear why the alleged injections were given. The Evans family did not respond to LifeSiteNews’ request for comment.

Medical advisors to LifeSiteNews said they could not understand why the child would be given four separate drugs. One or two drugs could be explained as an attempt to sedate the child or administer painkillers, if he were in distress. Four, however, seemed to them mysterious. They recommend that an independent toxicology report be performed. (Read more from “Alfie Evans Was Given 4 Drugs Just Before He Died: Report” HERE)

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Alfie Evans’ Parents Release Heartbreaking Note to Protesters as They Fight to Bring Their Son Home

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Alfie Evans’ parents have issued a heartbreaking note to supporters, asking them to stand down as they negotiate with the hospital to bring their dying child home, after reportedly being told they must make a major change in how they approach Alder Hey Hospital and Alfie’s medical team if they plan on letting their child die in peace in their comforting arms.

According to a shocking passage from the U.K.’s Telegraph, Alfie’s doctors told reporters that Alfie’s parents must make a “sea change” in their attitude toward the medical system holding their son hostage. . .

Alfie’s parents told media Thursday afternoon that they plan to meet with Alfie’s doctors as soon as possible. Alder Hey Hospital withdrew Alfie’s life support on Monday, but the child has survived, breathing on his own with only minimal help since then (although there has reportedly been no improvement in his condition).

In an apparent bid to placate doctors, Alfie’s parents released their note Thursday, through their lawyers, asking protesters to stand down and give both the family and the hospital privacy.

Alfie’s supporters were quick to observe that the note felt forced, as if Alfie’s parents had farmed the statement out to professionals — lawyers and public relations representatives — so that they could have even a small chance at bringing their boy to home for what doctors say will be his last hours. After all, Alfie’s parents are still very young, and not very well off, and they’re now at the mercy of Alder Hey Hospital.

(Read more from “Alfie Evans’ Parents Release Heartbreaking Note to Protesters as They Fight to Bring Their Son Home” HERE)

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Judges Rule Against Little Alfie Evans Again, Block Him from Leaving UK

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By WND. The father of little Alfie Evans, the 23-month-old toddler in England with a degenerative brain condition, has filed for a private prosecution to have three doctors charged with conspiracy to murder if his boy dies while in their care.

As WND reported, Evans’ parents, Tom and Kate Evans, have fought long and hard for many months to prevent his life support from being turned off, and even Pope Francis and Italian authorities have weighed in with their pleas. The baby’s family took their case to an appeals court on Wednesday, and a panel of three court of appeals judges heard arguments about the case in London.

The judges once again ruled that Evans and his family cannot leave the country to seek treatment in Italy.

The ongoing saga has captured worldwide attention, especially in light of Pope Francis’ repeated attempts to convince the courts to release Evans from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and allow him to be transported to the Vatican’s Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital for treatment. The current hospital refused to grant the transfer.

On Tuesday, a British judge rejected the desperate family’s plea to transport Evans to Italy for treatment, telling the parents that his ruling “represents the final chapter in the life of this extraordinary little boy.” Before Tuesday’s emergency ruling, the U.K. Supreme Court had ruled that the child should remain at the hospital. The family’s appeal was rejected as “inadmissible” by the European Court of Human Rights. (Read more from “Judges Rule Against Little Alfie Evans Again, Block Him from Leaving UK” HERE)

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British Toddler Alfie Evans Not Allowed to Leave Country, UK Court Says

By CNN. Judges on the UK Court of Appeal once again ruled against 23-month-old Alfie Evans’ family.

Wednesday’s ruling rejected new arguments intended to overturn a decision by the High Court on Tuesday that prevented the terminally ill toddler from leaving Britain for medical treatment, said Roger Kiska, a lawyer with Christian Legal Center and part of the legal team representing Alfie’s parents.

“We have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court and the European Court,” Kiska told CNN. “We could seek new medical evidence showing that his condition is improving.” Kiska will be discussing future steps with Alfie’s parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, who remained in Liverpool at Alfie’s hospital bedside.

Alfie, admitted to Alder Hey Hospital in December 2016, was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease associated with severe epilepsy and has been in a semivegetative state for more than a year. During that time, he has been kept alive by artificial ventilation in the critical care unit. (Read more from “British Toddler Alfie Evans Not Allowed to Leave Country, UK Court Says” HERE)

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