Charlie Gard has died following his near year-long battle with a rare genetic disease.

His life support was withdrawn at a hospice, a day after the High Court ordered his transfer from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

In a statement, his mother Connie Yates said: "Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie."

GOSH said everyone at the hospital "sends their heartfelt condolences to Charlie's parents and loved ones at this very sad time".

:: Pope leads tributes to 'little Charlie'

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Born a "perfectly healthy" baby on 4 August last year, Charlie's fight against a rare inherited disease generated headlines around the world.

His parents' legal bid to transfer their son from GOSH to the US for experimental treatment attracted the support of both the Pope and President Trump.

But, with UK courts consistently agreeing with Charlie's doctors that keeping him on life support was not in his best interests, his mother and father ended their high-profile legal battle on Monday.

:: Timeline - Parents' battle to save Charlie Gard

Connie Yates and Chris Gard lost a subsequent High Court bid to secure their son several days of life-support treatment, with GOSH describing their plans as not "in any way viable".

Charlie Gard 'the absolute warrior'

Ms Yates said she was "shocked" by the ruling, adding that GOSH had "denied us our final wish".

Charlie is believed to have been only the 16th person to ever be diagnosed with infantile onset encephalomyopathy mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS).

His condition meant he had a decreased number of the cells needed for respiration and energy production in muscles, the liver and brain.

Charlie could not move his arms or legs, was only able to breathe through a ventilator, had deafness and suffered severe epilepsy.

After finding an American doctor willing to offer the boy experimental treatment, Ms Yates set up a crowdfunding page in January in order to pay for the trial therapy.

Image: GOSH said a recent scan on Charlie made for 'sad reading'

After attracting celebrity backing and widespread support on social media, the "Charlie's Fight" campaign went on to raise more than £1.3m through donations from more than 84,000 people.

However, in April, a High Court judge agreed with GOSH that the experimental treatment was "very unlikely" to work and ruled doctors could withdraw all treatment except end-of-life care in the "best interests" of Charlie.

Charlie's parents launched unsuccessful appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court and failed to convince European judges to take on the case.

Their fight returned to the High Court in early July, so judge Mr Justice Francis could consider any new evidence.

Image: Charlie is believed to have been only the 16th person to be diagnosed with MDDS

During the hearing, Ms Yates broke down as the parents were told by a GOSH representative that a new scan on their son made for "sad reading".

Paying tribute to their son following the end of their legal challenge on Monday, Ms Yates and Mr Gard described him as an "absolute warrior".

Mr Gard said: "Mummy and Daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn't save you.

"We had the chance but we weren't allowed to give you that chance. Sweet dreams baby. Sleep tight our beautiful little boy."</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Eleven-month-old Charlie Gard was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment

Charlie Gard, the baby at the centre of a legal row over his treatment, has died, a family spokesman has confirmed.

The 11-month-old was moved to a hospice following a High Court ruling.

He suffered from an extremely rare genetic condition causing progressive brain damage and muscle weakness.

His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, fought a lengthy legal battle with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to allow him to be taken to the US for treatment.

But on Monday they dropped their legal battle after Prof Michio Hirano, the American neurologist who had offered to treat him, said it was too late for it to work.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, Ms Yates said: "Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie."

Prime Minister Theresa May said: "I am deeply saddened by the death of Charlie Gard. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie's parents Chris and Connie at this difficult time."

Pope Francis tweeted: "I entrust little Charlie to the Father and pray for his parents and all those who loved him."

GOSH said it sent its "heartfelt condolences" to Charlie's parents and loved ones.

US Vice-President Mike Pence tweeted: "Saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie Gard. Karen & I offer our prayers & condolences to his loving parents during this difficult time."

Image copyright EPA Image caption Chris Gard and Connie Yates fought a five-month legal battle on behalf of their son

On Thursday, Ms Yates said the couple had been denied their "final wish" to have more time with him after a High Court judge ruled that he would be moved to a hospice and have his life support withdrawn soon after.

The couple had wanted to take their son to the US for nucleoside bypass therapy, but specialists at GOSH said the treatment was experimental and that Charlie had irreversible brain damage.

Hundreds of people - called Charlie's Army - lent their support to his parents, who raised £1.35m to take him to the US for treatment.

The couple fought a legal battle for five months, in which judges from the High Court, Supreme Court and the European Court all agreed with doctors that the treatment would not benefit Charlie.

Charlie's plight attracted the attention of Pope Francis and US president Donald Trump.

Image copyright Featureworld Image caption Charlie has been in intensive care since October

Following the European Court ruling, the Pope said he was following the case "with affection and sadness".

In a statement released earlier this month, the Vatican said: "For them he prays, hoping that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end is not ignored."

The US president then offered his support, tweeting: "If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so."

After his tweet, Prof Hirano co-signed a letter with other medical experts which suggested unpublished data showed therapy could improve Charlie's brain condition.

They claimed that "ideally" the treatment would first be tested on mice but said that, in Charlie's case, there was no time for such a trial.

After examining Charlie a couple of weeks ago, Prof Hirano said it was too late for the treatment to work. An MRI scan had shown there was no muscle at all in parts of his body.

Image copyright Featureworld Image caption HIs parents have described him as an "absolute warrior"

Paying tribute to their son following the end of their legal challenge the couple, both in their 30s and of Bedfont, west London, had described him as an "absolute warrior".

On Monday Mr Gard said: "Mummy and Daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn't save you.

"We had the chance but we weren't allowed to give you that chance. Sweet dreams baby. Sleep tight our beautiful little boy."

Image copyright Featureworld

Timeline of Charlie's case</s>LONDON (AP) — British media are reporting that 11-month-old Charlie Gard, focus of a legal health battle, has died.

A British judge had ruled on Thursday that the terminally ill baby should be transferred to a hospice. The ruling marked the end of a months-long legal battle brought by his parents centered on the infant's right to life.

Gard had a rare genetic disease called mitochondrial depletion syndrome. He had brain damage and was unable to breathe or move his limbs without help.

His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, spent months trying to persuade London's Great Ormond Street Hospital to let Charlie go to the United States for an experimental treatment they believed could help him. Charlie's doctors opposed the idea, saying it would not help and could cause Charlie more suffering.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.</s>LONDON (AP) - Charlie Gard, the critically ill British baby at the center of a legal battle that attracted the attention of Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump, has died. He would have turned 1 next week.

Charlie suffered from a rare genetic disease, mitochondrial depletion syndrome, that caused brain damage and left him unable to breathe unaided.

His parents fought for the right to take him to the U.S. for an experimental therapy they believed could prolong his life. But Charlie's doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital objected, saying the treatment wouldn't help and might cause him to suffer. The dispute ended up in court.

A judge ruled Thursday that Charlie should be transferred to a hospice and taken off life support after his parents and the hospital that had been treating him failed to agree on an end-of-life plan.

Charlie's mother, Connie Yates, confirmed his death to British media: "Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie," she said, according to the BBC.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.</s>LONDON — Charlie Gard, a terminally ill British baby at the center of a high-profile legal fight to take him to the United States for treatment, has died. He was 11 months old.

Charlie's mother, Connie Yates, confirmed his death to British media: "Our beautiful little boy has gone, we are so proud of you Charlie," she said, according to the BBC.

Charlie died in a London hospice, where he was transferred on Thursday after the British High Court ruled — against his parents wishes — that he should not be allowed to die at home. After a five-month legal fight, the same court ruled that his rare genetic disease that caused progressive brain damage and muscle weakness would not respond to experimental therapy being offered by an American neurologist.

Charlie's condition was little known. Mitochondrial DNA depletion left him unable to move. He couldn't breathe without a ventilator. He was blind and deaf. However, over the course of his parents' battle to secure for him a radical, untested therapy in the U.S., his plight, and the dedication of Yates and her husband Chris Gard, became well known — it even attracted the attention of President Trump and Pope Francis.

Charlie died one week before his first birthday.

At birth, Charlie appeared to be healthy. His parents only discovered he had a genetic disorder only ever diagnosed in an estimated 15 other people after he began losing, at a few months, movement in his arms and legs and started having frequent seizures.

Until his transfer to the hospice, Charlie had been cared for at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, one of Britain's, and the world's, leading paediatric hospitals. But it was here, too, that as his health started declining his parents began to disagree with the hospital's doctors over what type of treatment Charlie should be offered.

Researching their son's condition, Yates and Gard came across a doctor at Columbia University Medical Center who was willing — provided they had the funds, which they did, after a fundraising campaign — to treat Charlie with nucleoside bypass therapy. This doctor, Michio Hirano, had tried the treatment on patients with a less severe form of Charlie's disorder to varying degrees of success. They thought it was worth a shot.

But Great Ormond Street Hospital disagreed and a legal fight erupted because in Britain, unlike is typically the case in the U.S., it is the courts not the patient or family who decide how to proceed when there is a dispute about medical treatment. Yates and Gard took the case all the way to the British Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Both upheld the High Court's ruling, which to the parents was a brutal and shocking one: Charlie's life-support machines should be turned off.

Yet the hospital, backed by British courts, saw it differently. Switching off Charlie's life-support treatment would allow him to die in dignity and perhaps even put an end to his pain, which doctors couldn't fully determine whether he was experiencing.

Meanwhile, the world was watching.

"If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so," Trump tweeted. Pope Francis said he was observing the case "with affection and sadness." Several Republican congressman sponsored legislation aimed at granting Charlie and his family U.S. residency. Others spoke of citizenship. Right-to-life campaigners and conservatives saw an opportunity to reprise arguments about euthanasia, family rights and religion. "Send him to us," the singer Cher said.

On Monday, after Hirano told a British judge that he no longer believed Charlie would respond to treatment, Yates and Gard dropped their legal fight to take him abroad. Still, they had one last wish, and that was to take their son home to die.

"We just want some peace with our son, no hospital, no lawyers, no courts, no media, just quality time with Charlie away from everything to say goodbye to him in the most loving way," Yates said in a statement. They lost that fight, too.</s>Charlie Gard, the critically ill British baby who has made international headlines, should be moved from a hospital to a hospice, according to a Thursday ruling.

The order came after Chris Gard and Connie Yates, Charlie's parents, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being treated, did not meet a deadline to agree on an end-of-life care plan.

Judge Nicholas Francis said that meant the 11-month-old baby should now be transferred to a hospice and have his ventilator removed.

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) said in a Thursday statement that it is going to "arrange for Charlie to be transferred to a specialist children's hospice, whose remarkable and compassionate staff will support his family at this impossible time."

The hospital called it "a very special place who will do all they can to make these last moments as comfortable and peaceful as possible for Charlie and his loved ones."

On Monday, Gard and Yates dropped their legal bid to send him to the U.S. for experimental treatment after new medical tests showed it could no longer help.

The lawyer for the parents said the couple was withdrawing their appeal during a London High Court hearing. As the couple wept, lawyer Grant Armstrong said recent medical tests on Charlie showed the baby has irreversible muscular damage.

"It's too late for Charlie," Armstrong said. "The damage has been done."

Charlie's parents later sought to take the baby home to die, but Great Ormond Street Hospital said it was not practical. At an emotional hearing on Wednesday, the judge said Charlie would, inevitably, end his days in a hospice. Yates left the hearing in tears.

Charlie's parents raised more than $1.6 million to take their son to the U.S. for an experimental treatment. Charlie suffers from a rare genetic condition that has left him with brain damage and on life support.

Great Ormond Street Hospital had intended to turn off the baby's life support as multiple courts have ruled that prolonging the baby’s life would only cause him greater pain.

A British court granted a fresh hearing earlier this month as the hospital said a team of doctors presented it with "new evidence relating to the potential treatment for [Charlie's] condition."

Dr. Michio Hirano of Columbia University – who specializes in treating rare genetic disorders – met with the specialists treating Charlie last week. And the House Appropriations Committee voted to give Charlie and his parents permanent residency in the U.S. as they sought treatment.

But as doctors and parents came head-to-head in court over Charlie's future, it became too late for further treatment, Armstrong said.

"Due to the delay in treatment that window of opportunity has been lost," Armstrong said.

Charlie's parents now plan "to spend the maximum amount of time they have left with Charlie."

Charlie's case has drawn worldwide attention from religious leaders, celebrities and President Donald Trump.

Read on to find out more about Charlie Gard and the case that's gone international.

At 11 months old, Charlie Gard suffers from the rare genetic condition Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. He has brain damage and is unable to breathe on his own.

Charlie was born on Aug. 4, 2016, according to a GoFundMe account set up by his mother. While he was healthy at birth, Charlie soon took a turn for the worse.

"We took him into [the] hospital at 8 weeks old and none of us have been anywhere near home since," Yates wrote.

He has been receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London since October.

Charlie's parents had hoped to take their son to the U.S. for an experimental treatment, but doctors disagreed, arguing that prolonging his medical care would just prolong his pain and suffering.

Yates said there is a new oral medication treatment available which "could potentially repair Charlie's [mitochondrial DNA] and help it synthase again by giving him the naturally occurring compounds that his body isn't able to produce."

Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome is an inherited disease that damages the body’s organs as it blocks energy from getting to organs.

Since the brain, heart, liver, muscles and kidneys all use a lot of energy, those organs can be affected the most by a mitochondrial disease, according to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The respiratory system can also be affected.

TRUMP ENTERS CHARLIE GARD DEBATE: ‘WE WOULD BE DELIGHTED’ TO HELP

While symptoms can vary among people who have mitochondrial diseases, those affected can experience muscle weakness, heart disease, seizures, breathing problems and developmental delay, according to the hospital.

For Charlie, "his brain, muscle and ability to breathe are all severely affected," a professor who specializes in mitochondrial diseases said about the baby. "In addition, he has congenital deafness and a severe epilepsy disorder."

While there are no cures yet for mitochondrial diseases, there are some treatments available that can reduce symptoms. However, treatments aren't guaranteed to work for every person, according to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Vitamins, cofactors and therapies have been helpful for some patients.

Respiratory failure is the most common death among those affected with the disease, according to the National Institute of Health's online library. And rarely do those inflicted with the disease survive into adolescence or adulthood, according to NIH.

So why did the UK legal system intervene in this case?

Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital said they had exhausted all proven treatment efforts and wanted to take Charlie off life support. But Charlie's parents pushed back and argued that they should be able to take their son out of the country for experimental treatment.

Doctors at the hospital went to the legal system and asked the courts to decide if they could remove Charlie from life support, without parental consent, if they deemed it to be in the child's best interest.

In April 2017, a judge ruled that doctors could take Charlie off life support.

PARENTS OF BRAIN-DAMAGED BABY LOSE FIGHT TO KEEP HIM ON LIFE SUPPORT

"It is with the heaviest of hearts but with complete conviction for Charlie's best interests that I find it is in Charlie's best interests that I accede to these applications and rule that GOSH may lawfully withdraw all treatment save for palliative care to permit Charlie to die with dignity," Francis said.

Charlie's parents appealed that decision — and others — until they reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and asked it to hear their case. The ECHR, in Strasbourg, France, rejected the plea and sided with the other courts' decisions.

The court's decision is "final," according to the Telegraph.

But the hospital applied for a new hearing after it said it received "new evidence relating to potential treatment for his condition."

Seven medical experts disclosed to the hospital unpublished data relating to a potential cure for Charlie's brain damage.

"Two international hospitals and their researchers have communicated to us as late as the last 24 hours that they have fresh evidence about their proposed experimental treatment," a hospital spokesperson said.

The hospital said that its view on Charlie's treatment had not changed but wanted to give "the High Court the opportunity to objectively assess the claims of fresh evidence."

"We believe, in common with Charlie's parents, it is right to explore this evidence," the spokesperson said, according to the BBC.

As the new hearing got underway on July 10, Francis gave the couple a few days to gather new evidence to present.

What has been the response from world leaders?

"I am confident that Great Ormond Street Hospital have and always will consider any offers of new information that has come forward for the wellbeing of a desperately ill child," British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons on July 5.

"It's an unimaginable position to be in. I fully understand and appreciate that any parent in this circumstances would want to do everything possible and explore every option for their seriously ill child," May continued. "But I know no doctor wants to be in this terrible position where they have to make such heartbreaking decisions."

JUDGE RULES BABY CAN BE TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT AGAINST PARENTS’ WISHES

President Donald Trump tweeted on July 3 that the U.S. would be "delighted" to help Charlie.

"Upon learning of baby Charlie Gard's situation, President Trump has offered to help the family in this heartbreaking situation," Helen Ferre, director of White House media relations, said in a statement.

She added that Trump did "not want to pressure" the family as he is "just trying to be helpful if at all possible."

The House Appropriations Committee voted last week to grant Charlie and his parents permanent residency status as they sought treatment.

Pope Francis has called for the parents to be allowed to do everything possible to treat their son, amending the Vatican's previous position after conservatives complained.

In a statement, the Vatican press office said Francis "is following with affection and sadness the case of little Charlie Gard and expresses his closeness to his parents. For this he prays that their wish to accompany and treat their child until the end is not neglected."

CHARLIE GARD'S PARENTS WITHDRAW APPLICATION TO BRING BABY TO US

Vatican-owned Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesu — commonly called the "Pope's Hospital" — offered to take in Charlie and treat him.

New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia Medical Center agreed to admit the boy, if he can be sent "safely" there, with legal issues "cleared." The hospital said it would also have to get the FDA's "emergency approval" for the boy's experimental treatment.

"Alternatively, if approved by the FDA, we will arrange shipment of the experimental drug to Great Ormond Street Hospital and advise their medical staff on administering it if they are willing to do so," the hospital said.

Singer Cher supported allowing Charlie Gard to come to the U.S. for treatment.

In an emoji-laden tweet on July 3, Cher said "institutions have no right [to] flip switch on beloved" baby.

"If [the U.S.] can save precious Charlie Gard … send him [to] us," she said.

British model Tamara Ecclestone has also donated to Charlie's parents' online fundraising site.

An Instagram account set up to document "Charlie's Fight" thanked actress Linda Robson for her support.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>LONDON (AP) – Charlie Gard, the critically ill British baby at the center of a legal battle that attracted the attention of Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump, has died. He would have turned 1 next week.

Charlie suffered from a rare genetic disease, mitochondrial depletion syndrome, that caused brain damage and left him unable to breathe unaided.

His parents fought for the right to take him to the U.S. for an experimental therapy they believed could prolong his life.

But Charlie’s doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital objected, saying the treatment wouldn’t help and might cause him to suffer. The dispute ended up in court.

A judge ruled Thursday that Charlie should be transferred to a hospice and taken off life support after his parents and the hospital that had been treating him failed to agree on an end-of-life plan.</s>LONDON (CBS4) – The 11-month-old baby at the center of dispute over treatment of his rare medical condition has died in hospice care.

Gard was moved to hospice care following a judge’s order Thursday. He was taken off life support there.

The rare genetic condition Gard suffered from is called mitochondrial depletion syndrome, which made it so he was unable to breathe on his own.

His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, lost court battles over his treatment, including trying to get him to the United States of an experimental treatment that was opposed by London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The parents gave up their legal fight earlier int he week and wanted to bring Charlie home to die, but the judge ruled against their wishes.</s>Charlie Gard, an 11-month-old baby at the center of an international dispute over treatment of a rare medical condition, has died in hospice care.

His family announced his death Friday, according to the BBC.

A judge in the U.K. ordered Gard moved to hospice care from a hospital on Thursday, where he was taken off life support. The judge said the move would “inevitably result in Charlie’s death within a short period of time thereafter.”

Parents of Charlie Gard end legal fight to bring terminally ill baby to U.S.

Gard suffered from a rare genetic condition called mitochondrial depletion syndrome and was unable to breath on his own. His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, lost a series of court battles over his treatment. The parents wanted to take Charlie to the U.S. for an experimental treatment, which officials at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital opposed.

British courts and the European Court of Human Rights sided with the hospital, which wanted to take Charlie off life support and allow him to die naturally.

The parents gave up their legal fight earlier this week and wanted to bring Charlie home to die. Judge Nicholas Francis deemed that impractical and ordered him moved to hospice care.</s>R.I.P little Charlie, sorry we couldn’t save you.

Some sad news to report: Charlie Gard, the terminally-ill baby that was the center of a controversy regarding parental rights and experimental treatment, has passed away in a hospice after his life support machine was withdrawn on Friday. He would have turned one on August 4.

Charlie spent the majority of his life in Great Ormond Street Hospital after being diagnosed with an extraordinarily rare disease called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. This disease robbed Charlie of his ability to move and breathe, and he was dependent on a ventilator. His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, raised over a million dollars to move him to the United States for an experimental treatment, but were not permitted to do so following a ruling by a human rights course that this was not in his best interest. A fierce debate on parental rights and medical care options soon followed, with figures as diverse as Pope Francis and President Donald Trump issuing statements of support for the Gard family.
Charlie Gard, an infant with a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, dies at the age of 11 months.