Foes of national health care in this country latched on to this tragic case for political purposes. A Heritage Foundation headline called it “A Sordid Lesson in Government-Controlled Health Care.”

Actually, it was the opposite. It was an inspiring example. Britain’s government-run health care system had given this working family’s baby nearly two years of intensive First World medical care at no charge to the parents. It desperately tried to save Alfie.

In a crashing irony, conservatives in the U.S. called for keeping Alfie on life-support while pushing to dismantle what little health coverage many Americans have. Under President Trump’s leadership, they work tirelessly to drain the Affordable Care Act of the funds it needs to stay afloat. They have no plausible replacement.