There is currently no greater example of a government that has become too big for its people, than the case of Alfie Evans.

Alfie, the 23-month-old at the centre of the British health system debacle, is thought to have a neurodegenerative disease, which National Health Service doctors believe he will not recover from and have refused to provide further treatment. Because of this medical opinion, Alfie’s parents have even been denied the right to seek alternative care in another country for their son, as he lies dying.

Britain, once a powerhouse for Western Civilisation, has resorted to trapping its own citizens in at the border, preventing Alfie from leaving the country. The opinion of the state in the case of Alfie Evans has triumphed over the will of the parents to do everything possible for their son’s life.

On Monday after a vicious court battle, little Alfie forcibly had his breathing tube removed. Unfortunately for the state however, young Alfie has despite all this, fought on, bringing embarrassment on the NHS system and courts that had, hand-on-heart, promised his death.

It took six hours of the toddler taking struggled breaths before Alfie’s parents could legally supply their child with water, or else be held in violation of the court decision, who had insisted that Alfie must die.

The monstrosity that is the NHS seemed to believe that Alfie Evans was better off with an excruciating and slow demise through dehydration and malnutrition, than giving his parents the chance to fight for Alfie’s life as hard as Alfie was fighting for his own.

If you weren’t already sceptical of the government and its bureaucracies, you would be now. It is a system that has gone from protecting life, to deciding when you must die, and is one that has earned our deep distrust.

Given the questionable history of the state when it comes to fighting for the rights of the disabled, and the trauma of an entire NHS disappointed Alfie hadn’t died, it’s no wonder Alfie’s parents are seeking solace in Italy.

Here they have been promised citizenship, but more importantly, a culture and a healthcare system that will afford their son, the basic assumption that his life is valuable.

Ensuring that a child receives basic nutrition and hydration is not an extraordinary medical act, particularly when they cannot get it on their own. It is basic human decency, which should be awarded to every child in Britain, regardless of their ability.

The United Kingdom today is a far cry from the empire that William Wilberforce believed could lead the way in promoting all life as inherently equal.

The NHS is in overreach, the government should act, because Alfie deserves every chance.

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