The parents of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who was left in a comatose state after suffering brain damage, have failed to persuade the supreme court to intervene in a life support treatment battle. Archie’s mother and father, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, had asked supreme court justices to give them more time to carry on their efforts. Dance and Battersbee want the United Nations to consider the case after losing life support treatment fights in London courts. They wanted supreme court justices to bar doctors at the Royal London hospital from stopping life support treatment until they had time to make an application to the UN. But three justices on Thursday refused their application. A supreme court spokesperson said: “This afternoon, 28 July 2022, the supreme court received an urgent permission to appeal (PTA) application in the case of Archie Battersbee. “The parents of Archie Battersbee … were seeking a stay of the court of appeal’s decision to allow withdrawal of life support treatment from their child. Aware of the urgency of this matter, the court convened a panel of three justices who considered submissions. “Having considered the careful judgment of the court of appeal … the panel has refused permission to appeal to the supreme court.” Archie’s parents said the UN had a protocol that allows “individuals and families” to make complaints about violations of disabled people’s rights. They say the UN could ask the UK government to delay the withdrawal of life support to Archie while a complaint is investigated. The family’s lawyer has told Sky News that Archie’s parents still plan to try to take the case to the UN or the European courts, despite the supreme court’s failure to intervene. A spokesman for the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting the parents in their legal bid, said later: “Lawyers are seeking assurances from the hospital trust that life-support will not be removed while the family make the application to UN, despite the hospital being now legally able to remove it.”