Boy in life support court fight dies

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A cancer-stricken New York boy, whose parents went to court to keep him on life support, has died at a Washington hospital, the family attorney said.

"In the end, nature took its course before the judicial system ran its course," attorney Jeffrey I. Zuckerman said.

Zuckerman told The Washington Post Motl Brody's heart stopped beating Saturday and he was buried Sunday after a service attended by thousands from Brooklyn's close-knit Hasidic community.

Previously this month, doctors at a Washington hospital where the 12-year-old boy was being treated declared him brain dead but his Orthodox Jewish parents said their faith does not define death on the basis of brain activity.

They sought an order from District of Columbia Superior Court to keep their son on life support. However, a hearing set for last week was called off at the request of both the hospital and the parents because his condition had deteriorated.

Experts on Orthodox Jewish law contacted by the Post said there is no consensus on the medical definition of death. Some base it on brain activity, others on whether the heart is still beating.