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Indi Gregory, the 8-month-old infant who was forced off life support by the United Kingdom courts system, was baptized before her death despite her family not originally being religious.
Dean Gregory, Indi's father, said before her death that he was inspired to baptize his daughter by Christian legal volunteers who fought to keep her alive. Dean said he became convinced of the existence of the devil by his family's treatment in the courtroom.
"I am not religious and I am not baptized. But when I was in court, it felt like I had been dragged to hell," Dean Gregory said in a Nov. 6 interview with New Daily Compass. "I thought, if hell exists then heaven must exist. It was like the devil was there. I thought if there’s a devil then God must exist."
UK INFANT INDI GREGORY DIES AMID LEGAL BATTLE WITH BRITISH GOVERNMENT OVER TREATMENT OPTIONS
This photo shows Indi Gregory, an infant in the United Kingdom forced off life support by the Court of Appeals despite offers of continued care and legal protection from the Italian government and Vatican leadership. (Family Handout/PA via AP)
Indi Gregory, who died Monday after being forced off life support by the British government, was defended in courts by legal counsel Christian Concern.
She had been offered Italian citizenship by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and resources for continued care at a Catholic pediatric hospital in Rome by the Vatican. However, Justice Robert Peel ruled on Nov. 8 that the infant was to be removed from her life-supporting ventilator against the parents' wishes. An appeal in the case was denied.
Dean Gregory said his legal counsel's compassion for his daughter — in contrast to the "hell" he experienced in court — convinced him to seek baptism.
"A Christian volunteer visited the intensive care unit everyday and she told me baptism protects you and opens the door to heaven. I was also really struck by my lawyers from the Christian Legal Centre, Louis Browne KC, Bruno Quintavalle and Pavel Stroilov, the way they supported me and their dedication. It was like Indi’s baptism was also a way of recognizing their work."
Pope Francis visits hospitalized children. (Vatican Media/Pool/GG/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
The father clarified that Indi's baptism was not merely an expression of gratitude to the Christian volunteers who had fought to save his child, saying that he would like to seek baptism for himself and his surviving daughter as well.
"I have seen what hell is like and I want Indi to go to heaven," said Dean Gregory. In fact, I have decided that me and my daughter should get baptized too. We want to be protected in this life and go to heaven."
The U.K. government refused to allow Indi Gregory to continue living on life support despite the Vatican's offer to transfer the infant to Bambino Gesù hospital with Italian cooperation.
Senior U.K. judges Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lady Justice Eleanor King and Lord Justice Andrew Moylan were the judges who refused the Gregorys' appeal, ruling that the Italian government and the Vatican were "wholly misconceived" in attempting to transfer the ill infant into their custody.
Indi's father, Dean Gregory, described his failed attempts in British courts to save his daughter's life as "being dragged to hell." He baptized his daughter in previous months despite not being religious because he felt he met "the devil" in his legal battles. (Family Handout/PA via AP)
Pope Francis expressed his prayer intentions for the Gregory family, with the Vatican announcing the pontiff "embraces the family of little Indi Gregory, her father and mother, prays for them and for her, and turns his thoughts to all the children around the world in these same hours who are living in pain or risking their lives because of disease and war."
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was a public supporter of the Gregorys, making aggressive pushes on the U.K. government to release Indi into her country's custody.
"They say there isn’t much hope for little Indi, but until the very end, I’ll do what I can to defend her life, and to defend the right of her mamma and papa to do all that they can for her," Meloni wrote on social media in the days leading up to Indi's death.
"Indi’s life ended at 01.45am. Claire and I are angry, heartbroken, and ashamed. The NHS and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged," Dean Gregory said Monday following his daughter's death. "They did succeed in taking Indi’s body and dignity, but they can never take her soul. They tried to get rid of Indi without anybody knowing, but we made sure she would be remembered forever. I knew she was special from the day she was born.