A court in Maastricht has cleared the way for doctors to stop treating a three-year-old girl who is seriously ill with a rare genetic disease.

The girl has been kept alive on a ventilator since the end of February, and doctors at Maastricht University’s teaching hospital wanted to stop the treatment, arguing there is no prospect of her getting better.

But her parents went to court to try to force doctors to continue treating the girl. They argue it is “against their religion” to stop treatment if her heart is still beating.

Both doctors treating the girl and two others asked for a second opinion had told the court there is no chance that the girl will recover.

The court said the parents’ grief was “palpable” but agreed that the decision is up to the doctors. “Various statements from doctors and nursing staff show that the girl is suffering terribly,” the court said.

The parents, who have another daughter who has been kept alive on a ventilator at a hospital in Egypt for four years, have the right to appeal.