She is only four months old, and yet, around Tasnim, one of the most difficult decisions imaginable is being played out today: whether or not to continue treatments keeping a child alive.
According to her family, justice has validated the decision allowing the cessation of care for little Tasnim. Her parents, however, oppose it and denounce a serious and irreversible decision.
For her father, the legal battle is therefore not over. He now wishes to appeal to the Conseil d’État, France's highest administrative court, in order to try and obtain the continuation of care.
Parents who still ask for time
Behind the medical and legal procedures, there are first and foremost two parents facing an unimaginable situation.
They know that their child's health condition is extremely serious and that her future could be marked by severe sequelae. But for them, as long as their daughter is alive, they wish to continue fighting for her.
This is precisely what makes this type of case so complex.
On the one hand, doctors must determine whether continuing certain treatments still provides a real benefit to the child or if they constitute what the law calls "unreasonable obstinacy".
On the other hand, parents may feel that stopping means giving up on their child too soon.
French law stipulates that treatments should not be continued when they result from unreasonable obstinacy. When a patient is unable to express their will, the decision to limit or stop certain treatments follows a regulated medical procedure that specifically takes the family into account.
How far should a child's care be continued?
This is probably the most painful question raised by Tasnim's story.
Should all possible chances be given to a baby, even when doctors fear extremely significant sequelae?
Or should it be considered that beyond a certain stage, continuing treatments risks prolonging a situation without real hope of improvement?
There is no simple answer.
One thing is certain: a decision to stop treatments can have irreversible consequences. It is precisely for this reason that these situations can be submitted to a judge and, in some cases, go as far as the Conseil d’État.
The fight continues for Tasnim's family
Today, Tasnim's father wishes to continue legal appeals and bring the case before the Conseil d’État.
This is not to deny the seriousness of his child's condition or the consequences she might face. He primarily asks that all possibilities be examined before a definitive and irreversible decision is applied.
This story ultimately transcends Tasnim's individual case. It raises a deeply human, medical, ethical, and legal question:
Who can decide that the fight must stop when a patient is only four months old and obviously cannot express their own will?
Doctors, who know the medical reality and want to avoid unreasonable obstinacy? Parents, who know their child and want to preserve her chances of living until the very end? Justice, when a disagreement becomes impossible to resolve?
There will probably never be an answer that satisfies everyone.
But behind the decisions, expert opinions, and procedures, there is today a four-month-old girl and parents who are still asking for time.
What do you think? Should care be continued despite the risk of very severe sequelae, or are there situations in which the cessation of treatments must be accepted?
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