Italy grants citizenship to critically ill British baby to prevent life support withdrawal

Rome: The Italian government has granted citizenship to a critically ill baby girl from the UK, to prevent doctors from discontinuing her life support and allowing her to be transferred to Italy. Eight-month-old Indi Gregory is afflicted by a rare mitochondrial disease, which hampers her cells from producing adequate energy. A hospital in Nottingham, central England, determined that continued treatment was futile.

The baby's parents requested to be able to take her to the children's hospital in Rome run by the Vatican, but last week, the High Court of England denied their plea, declaring that it was in the baby's "best interests" to be taken off life support.

The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, convened an emergency meeting and granted Gregory Italian citizenship as the sole agenda item.


"They say there isn't much hope for little Indi, but until the end, I will do what I can to defend her life. And to defend her mum and dad's right to do everything they can for her," Meloni wrote on X.


Galeazzo Bignami, a junior minister, explained that the government's decision would facilitate the baby's transfer to the Bambino Gesu paediatric hospital, averting the discontinuation of her life support, which was scheduled for Monday.

Gregory's parents have the option to appeal to the Italian consulate in Britain to request an airlift to Italy, although there is no obligation for Britain to grant this request.

The Italian government pledged to cover the costs of medical treatment at the Bambino Gesu, a Vatican-run facility near St. Peter's. The father, Dean Gregory, expressed their readiness to take the risk of transferring Indi to Italy, as the only alternative offered in the UK was to accept her demise.

The case bears similarities to a 2018 incident in which a British court rejected the parents' plea to transport a critically ill 23-month-old toddler to the Bambino Gesu. Tragically, the toddler, Alfie Evans, passed away a few days after the removal of his life support.