UK hospital regrets protracted dispute over Charlie Gard treatment

LONDON (Reuters) - The British hospital treating Charlie Gard said on Thursday that it deeply regretted that "heartfelt differences" over how he should be treated had played out in court over such a protracted period. A judge ruled earlier on Thursday that the 11-month-old baby would spend his final hours in a hospice before a ventilator that keeps him alive is turned off. His case has prompted a worldwide debate over who has the authority to decide the fate of an incurably sick child. "Charlie's parents have tirelessly advocated for what they sincerely believed was right for their son, and nobody could fault them for doing so," a spokeswoman for Great Ormond Street said. "We have tried absolutely everything to accommodate their final wishes. "We deeply regret that profound and heartfelt differences between Charlie's doctors and his parents have had to be played out in court over such a protracted period." (Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Kevin Liffey)