NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom (LifeSiteNews) — Baby Indi Gregory died last night after she was taken off life-support following the order of England’s Court of Appeal
Indi’s father Dean Gregory, who says he is not religious, had her baptized before her death, saying the court ordeal has been like “hell… and I want Indi to go to heaven.”
After the Court of Appeal rejected the parents’ plea to take Indi home on Friday, November 10, the eight-month-old baby was taken from the Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham to a hospice, where she died at 1.45 a.m. local time on November 13 in the arms of her mother, the Daily Mail reports.
Indi’s father, Dean Gregory, said, “My wife Claire and I are angry, heartbroken, and ashamed.”
“The NHS [National Health Service] and the courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged,” he continued.
“They managed to take Indi’s body and dignity, but they will never be able to take her soul.”
In an interview with the Italian Catholic news outlet La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, Dean revealed why he had his daughter Indi baptized in the months before she died.
“I am not religious, and I am not baptized,” he said. “But when I was in court, I felt like I was being dragged to hell. I thought that if hell exists, then heaven must also exist. It was as if the devil was there. I thought that if the devil exists, then God must exist.”
Gregory noted that he was impressed by the love and dedication of his lawyers from the Christian Legal Center and that a Christian volunteer who visited them in the hospital every day told him about the power of baptism.
“A Christian volunteer visited the intensive care unit every day and told me that baptism protects you and opens the door to heaven,” he said. “I was also very impressed with my lawyers from the Christian Legal Center, Louis Browne KC, Bruno Quintavalle, and Pavel Stroilov, the way they supported me and their dedication. It was as if Indi’s baptism was also a way of recognizing their work. I have seen what hell is like, and I want Indi to go to heaven.”
He went on to say that he and his older daughter also plan to receive the sacrament of baptism.
“In fact, I have decided that my daughter and I should also be baptized. We want to be protected in this life and go to heaven.”
The anti-life outlook of the UK’s legal system
A U.K. court had ruled in October that it was in Indi’s “best interests” to withdraw life-sustaining measures because she suffered from an incurable mitochondrial disease, and the treatments would be causing immense pain and distress to her. Multiple legal appeals from Indi’s parents did not lead to a reversal of that decision.
Dean argued, however, that the real reason that the authorities did not want to keep the life-sustaining measures going was because they thought it was not worth it from a monetary standpoint. He accused the NHS, the lawyers, doctors, and nurses of conspiracy and said that they greatly exaggerated the pain that Indi’s treatments caused her.
“The NHS, lawyers, and doctors back each other up, act like friends, and even have lunch together,” he told La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana. “The family has no chance and no rights.”
“I was shocked by the exaggerated testimonies that professionals gave in court to prove that Indi is suffering terribly. One nurse recounted seeing Indi wince in pain when he gave her medicine. One said she has coughing fits that last up to 10 minutes. This is not true; her mother Claire and I spend up to 10 hours every day with Indi and even stay overnight if she is sick.”
“If I thought for a moment that my daughter was in pain, I would stop treatment, but that is not the case. Indi’s videos prove it.”
He stressed that people should question “whether the state should have the power to decide who can live and who should die.”
In an interview with political commentator Michael Knowles, published on November 10, Gregory said: “They [the U.K. health and legal systems] don’t think she’s worth the cost because she potentially got a shorter life, but nobody knows when we are going to pass away; they’re not God, they shouldn’t play God.”
Italy’s failed attempt to rescue baby Indi
After learning about the court’s decision, the Vatican-run Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome offered to treat Indi. Still, the U.K. court ruled that Indi would not be allowed to travel to Italy to receive treatment. The judge argued that “[t]here is nothing to suggest that Indi Gregory’s prognosis would be beneficially altered by the Italian hospital’s treatment.”
The Italian government went a step further in its attempt to save Indi’s life, granting the eight-month-old Italian citizenship to facilitate the transfer to Italy.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “They say there isn’t much hope for little Indi, but I will do everything in my power to defend her life until the end. And to defend her mother and father’s right to do everything they can for her.”
Ultimately, British authorities could not be persuaded to grant the parents’ wish to transfer Indi to Rome in due time.
Reactions to Indi’s tragic death
Italian Prime Minister Meloni reacted to the news on X: “We did everything we could, everything possible. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Have a good trip little Indi.”
Italian Vice-Premier Matteo Salvini stated, “Little Indi Gregory is gone, news we never wanted to read.”
“The Italian government did its utmost, offering to treat her in our country, unfortunately without success. A heartfelt prayer for her and a sincere hug to her parents.”
The Italian pro-life group ProVita & Famiglia blasted the U.K. government and the “barbaric euthanasia culture” responsible for the death of baby Indi.
“The British baby was killed – ‘in her own best interest’ – by a health and legal system steeped in barbaric euthanasia culture, which refused to even attempt the different clinical proposal of the Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome by smothering her parents’ love in courtrooms,” the group wrote in a statement.
“Today we are all full of shame: we are ashamed of a ‘modernity’ that, out of ‘mercy,’ suppresses the weak and helpless.”
“Forgive us Indi.”
“Also, in your name we will continue to fight against this insane euthanasia drift,” the group concluded.
Belgian historian and philosopher David Engels called the decision of the British courts “cold-blooded murder.”
“The battle is over,” Engels wrote on X. “Cold-blooded murder, aka ‘human dignity’ or ‘euthanasia’, has triumphed over the life of an innocent baby and the hope of her parents – and despite the readiness of the entire Italian nation to take over care for baby Indi.”
Italian Senator Giacomo Zamperini from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party also lashed out at the U.K. government and hinted at possible diplomatic consequences, the Daily Mail reports.
“In England, evil and human perfidy prevailed, this time too, as in the case of Charlie Gard,” Zamperini said.
READ: Baby Charlie Gard has died
“Judges who should bring justice and care, took the life of a defenseless creature, but they did so against the will of [the] her parents, without even allowing them to take her into their home.”
“Indi had become an Italian citizen in all respects, so now a clash of a diplomatic and legal nature between Italy and the United Kingdom could also emerge,” he warned.
According to the Daily Mail, he mentioned the possibility of legal action against the British government.
Zamperini said there was a “rule of law that plays God, decreeing on the life and death of people, choosing which lives are worth living and which are not, taking the place of relatives and dearest loved ones in this decision.”
The mother of Charlie Gard, whose baby suffered a similar fate in the U.K. in 2017, said, “What happened to Indi and her family is terrible. The same thing happened to us six years ago with our son, Charlie.”
“I am heartbroken because another family is suffering the same way.”
LifeSiteNews invites readers to pray for the repose of the soul of Indi Gregory and the well-being of her family.