A short thread to highlight & add to @AdamWagner1 article on the US alt-right's narrative of justice in the UK, as seen through recent high-profile cases which have attracted worldwide attention 1/
It isn't limited either to the US or to a monolithic 'alt-right' as responses to the two English infants' end-of-life best interests decisions (Charlie Gard & Alfie Evans) in the last year have showed 2/
Some in the USA have used these decisions as a sounding board for opposition to state-funded universal healthcare ("single payer", "death panels") even though it was not a factor in the decision in either case 3/
Others have been pro-life activists, part of a "religious right" constituency that doesn't have a politically representative equivalent in England, but which is visible and active in Europe, notably in Italy and Poland in connection with Alfie Evans case
The president of pro-life Americans United for Life was present for some of the later hearings in Charlie Gard's case, & the role of the Christian Legal Centre & other Christian activists in Alfie Evans' is now well-known, & CLC likely to be subject of regulatory investigation 5/
The interest taken by foreign activists & their supporters in these cases goes beyond comment & representation, to steps which seek to limit the sovereignty of our courts over people & issues within their jurisdiction 6/
By politicians using influence to hastily confer rights of foreign citizenship (USA for Charlie, Italy for Alfie) on infants, & supporting legal process abroad based on this 7/
eg leader of Italian political party, la Lega, Matteo Salvini, & Lega senator Simone Pillon, filing petition with the public prosecutor in Rome, requesting some Italian legal process to investigate Alfie's death 8/
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All this, coinciding with elections in Italy this spring, & Irish 8th amendment referendum, show how these cases offer an opportunity for those with an agenda & a message to seize the narrative & raise their profile, whilst undermining & defaming our own rule of law 9/
Finally, I've been intending to write at greater length on this, particularly on mis/understanding of best interests judgments in a post-truth world, & I will, but there's a lot of material to reflect on, so it's taking some time /ends
