British baby Charlie Gard at center of legal battle dies

LONDON (AP) — Charlie Gard, the terminally ill British baby at the center of a legal and ethical battle that attracted the attention of Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump, died today. He was one week shy of his first birthday.

Charlie's parents fought for the right to take him to the United States for an experimental medical treatment for his rare genetic disease, mitochondrial depletion syndrome, which left him brain damaged and unable to breathe unaided. His case ended up in the courts when doctors opposed the plan, saying the untested therapy wouldn't help Charlie and might cause him to suffer.

A family spokeswoman, Alison Smith-Squire, confirmed Charlie's death today, a day after a judge ordered he be taken off a ventilator at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and moved to an undisclosed hospice for his final hours.

"Our beautiful little boy has gone, we're so proud of him," his mother, Connie Yates, said in a statement.

Charlie was seemingly healthy at birth but soon began to weaken. He was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital, Britain's premier children's hospital, when he was two months old and remained there until almost the end of his life.