Why Pippa's plight couldn't be ignored

Summer Appeal
Dear Friend and Supporter,

5-year-old Pippa Knight died after her life support was removed at 1.10pm on 6 May.

Sadly, the removal of the ventilator did not take place at her home as her mum, Paula Parfitt, had hoped, but at London’s Evelina Children’s Hospital, where Pippa had been a patient for the previous two years.

Paula has asked me to relay to you her personal message of appreciation:

“I would like to thank all of the beautiful people who joined Pippa’s fight for the right to live with their generosity, prayers, strength, love and support.

“Your kind acts and your wonderful messages were both and heartfelt. It restored our faith in humanity and I am tremendously humbled by them all.

“Pippa loved you all and I hope and pray that she inspires people to stand firm in their faith."

Pippa Knight suffered from seizures and had just a few months to live. Her mother, Paula (above), argued it was in her best interests to die at home, but it wasn’t to be.

This tragic story began last December when bosses at the Guy's and St Thomas' Children's NHS Foundation Trust, who run the Evelina Children’s Hospital, applied to the courts to remove Pippa’s ventilator and end her young life.

Pippa had a rare brain condition known as Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy, leaving her in an unconscious state which meant that she required a ventilator.

Paula argued that as Pippa’s condition was terminal, it would be in Pippa’s best interests for her to be allowed home with a portable ventilator to die a natural death surrounded by family.

Paula told the judge:

"I just will not give up on her.

"If there is an opportunity for her to go home [to die with family] then it is what God would want.

"I don't think you know if anything will work unless you try it."

Then in January, Mr Justice Poole ruled that hospital doctors could lawfully stop providing life support treatment.

Because of people like you, SPUC was able to step in and offer help.

Thousands of SPUC supporters responded to an emergency fundraising appeal, making it possible for a legal challenge to be mounted on Pippa’s behalf.

Challenges at the High Court and Court of Appeal followed.

Leading medical specialists testifying in court said that a home ventilator trial for Pippa was not only possible, but would also have been in Pippa’s best interests.

They included specialists from the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, who believed that home-relocation for Pippa was a feasible option.

But on 1 April, any remaining hopes Paula had of Pippa dying peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family were crushed when the Supreme Court – Britain’s highest appeal court – refused to hear her case.

Pippa passed away 36 days later.

The Supreme Court’s decision could have significant ramifications for the human rights of every man, woman and child in the UK.
1. By allowing hospital bosses to remove life-sustaining treatment to ensure Pippa’s death, the courts are sending out a message that the lives of certain categories of patients – in particular those with severe disabilities – are less valuable and thus less worthy of receiving medical treatment than others.

Civilised societies prohibit the intentional killing by act or omission of innocent people due to the immeasurable worth of every human life.
* Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes it clear that each of us is entitled in law to “the right to life, liberty and security of person” regardless of our disabilities.
* Under Article 2 of The Human Rights Act 1998: “Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally..."

The idea of one’s life not being a benefit for a patient is enormous and should not be minimised. But in Pippa’s case the judge and some doctors did not believe her life was a benefit.

The hospital’s actions in this case threaten to subtly change people’s perspectives on the intrinsic value of human life, and they had to be challenged.
2. By siding with hospital bosses, the courts have considerably weakened the rights of children and families and boosted state power over individuals.

The “Principle of Family-Based Care” is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1987.

Article 7.1 states that a child has, “as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.”

The Convention also acknowledges the primary role of parents and the family in the care and protection of children, as well as the obligation of the State to help parents carry out those duties.

And the Convention makes it clear that in cases like Pippa’s, decisions should NOT be taken out of the hands of parents without very serious reason.

Though Pippa’s case was lost, her legal challenge was NOT in vain.
1. It sent out a strong message that even powerful state organs like the NHS will be challenged when the right-to-life is undermined and diminished.
2. Conversely, by doing nothing, a dangerous signal would have gone out that the lives of those with severe disabilities are cheap, expendable and less worthy of living.
3. And when cases like Pippa’s are repeatedly reported by major media outlets like the BBC and Daily Mail, the rulings of the judiciary come under the microscope, making judges more publicly accountable for their decisions.

Will you support SPUC’s Legal Defence Fund and its other vital pro-life work?

In her message, Pippa Knight’s mum, Paula Parfitt, described SPUC supporters as “inspirational”.

She said that acts of kindness and support like yours had restored “her faith in humanity”.

In a world where so few are willing to recognise and respect the inestimable worth of human life and the human rights which uphold them, prudent legal action can shine a powerful light on the plight of those whose right-to-life is threatened.

And there are none more vulnerable in the world today than unborn babies. But strong legal actions that save lives require substantial funding.

The final bill for SPUC in the Pippa Knight legal case was £132K – that’s £32K more than we’d budgeted for.

Now, with the Westminster Government announcing that it intends to force through new abortion regulations in Northern Ireland this summer, SPUC is preparing to go to court once more to uphold the constitutional rights of the Northern Ireland people and block the Government’s radical abortion roll-out there.

No other pro-life group is taking on these cases in the courts.

Our lawyers have said that costs for SPUC’s Northern Ireland judicial review case are likely to exceed £150K.

Thanks to a wonderful response to my July postal appeal £100k of that figure has now been raised.

We therefore urgently need to raise £81k by September to:
1. Cover all outstanding legal fees from the Pippa Knight case.
2. Ensure that the additional cost of SPUC’s current court challenge against the Government’s dreadful abortion roll-out plans for Northern Ireland is met.
3. Replenish SPUC’s Legal Defence Fund so that we are in a position to take prompt action the next time a threat to our babies manifests itself.


SPUC’s vision is to see real Human Rights restored for ALL – including unborn children – ending abortion for good.

It is critical that we challenge the current narrative that says the lives of some groups of people are less worthy of protection than others.

We know what a formidable weapon Court action can be and that’s why SPUC has plans to expand its legal work.

That’s why this fundraising appeal is so vital.

If everyone reading this email today gave a gift of £20, we would also be in a strong position to respond to new dangers threatening the unborn when they come along this year, as they surely will.

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Larger offerings of £50 or £100 to £500 or more will of course ensure that the legal defence “pot” is not only replenished but continues to grow and mature so that more can be done to fully restore our fundamental human rights in the courts.

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Pledging a regular monthly gift of £10 or £15 – or increasing your existing monthly gift by a similar amount if you already have one set up – is another way that you may wish to help.

Knowing what level of funding is coming into SPUC each month helps tremendously.

Just as every family is reliant upon regular income to manage its household budget successfully, so too are pro-life campaigning groups, like SPUC.

Stable and dependable finances are vital when your opponents include the UK Government and the NHS, who have no such financial restrictions to concern them.

Hundreds of UK churches normally support SPUC’s work through its annual White Flower Appeal collection, but they were unable to do so this year because of COVID restrictions.

That has resulted in a drop of £230,000 in SPUC’s annual income.

This setback has made the need for “substitute” funding from a successful summer email fundraiser all the more acute.

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Thank you for ALL that you have done, and are doing, to protect and uphold the dignity of human life in the United Kingdom.

Yours in defence of life

John Smeaton
Chief Executive

PS – The target for SPUC’s 10-day summer email fundraising appeal is £81,000, a very challenging one at a time of year when raising funds is notoriously difficult.

It really doesn’t matter at what level of support you are able to give. A few pounds here and there soon add up.

What’s important is that the most vulnerable people, like little Pippa Knight and all the unborn children whom we love and cherish, are never abandoned.

This fight is for them.

Every pound raised is a pound for them.

Every donation is an extra hand clasped together with theirs in solidarity in this one-sided battle for their most fundamental human rights and their very existence.

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