The parents of baby Charlotte Wyatt are expected to hear this afternoon whether a high court judge has supported their case for their daughter's right to life.

Darren and Debbie Wyatt from Portsmouth tried to convince Mr Justice Hedley that their 11-month-old child has a right to life. They argued their daughter should be provided with every aspect of medical care available.

Charlotte was born three months premature, weighing only 1lb and measuring five inches. She has already stopped breathing three times due to serious heart and lung problems; she is fed through a tube because she cannot suck from a bottle and she needs a constant supply of oxygen.

Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust argues that resuscitating Charlotte again would lead to further damage to her lungs and cause her further suffering.

It has asked the court for an order allowing its doctors not to ventilate her again if she has life-threatening breathing difficulties.

Paediatricians told the court that Charlotte's chances of survival over the next 12 months were "approaching zero", and she would never leave hospital because of the problems she faced. Almost a decade ago David Bowen fought through the courts to force Cambridge health authority to continue treating his daughter Jaymee, who was given eight weeks to live if she was not given a specialist blood transfusion.

In a decision that divided the medical profession, the court of appeal ruled against Mr Bowen, but an anonymous donor then paid for Jaymee to have private treatment. She died a year later in 1996 at the age of 11.