Spanish woman to die by euthanasia after long legal battle with father

15 minutes ago

ShareSave

Laura Gozzi

ShareSave

Y Ahora Sonsoles (Atresmedia Television)

Noelia Castillo, 25, was left paraplegic due to injuries suffered when she tried to take her own life in 2022

A Spanish woman who has conducted a long legal battle with her father for the right to end her life is due to die by euthanasia on Thursday.

Barcelona resident Noelia Castillo, 25, was left paraplegic due to injuries suffered when she tried to take her own life in 2022.

The Catalan government granted her the right to assisted dying in the summer of 2024 but the process was suspended at the last moment following legal objections raised by her father, with the backing of the conservative campaign group Christian Lawyers (Abogados Cristianos).

He argued that his daughter suffered from a personality disorder which affected her judgement.

He also pointed to “the obligation of the state to protect the lives of people, especially the most vulnerable, as is the case with a young person with mental health problems”.

That appeal started an 18 month-long legal battle which ended when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Noelia Castillo’s favour.

Speaking to Spanish TV earlier this week, Castillo said her father had tried to legally block her decision to die with dignity. “He hasn’t respected my decision and never will,” she said.

She also recounted her difficult childhood, much of it spent in care homes.

She said she was first sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend of four years after she had taken sleeping pills to help her sleep, and said she was also assaulted on another occasion by several men in a nightclub.

The 25-year-old also said she had always “felt alone” and never had doubts that she wanted to go ahead with the decision to die by euthanasia.

“Nobody in my family is in favour,” she said. “I am leaving and you are staying here with all the pain, but what about all the suffering I have endured over the years? I just want to leave in peace and stop the pain.”

“The happiness of a father or a mother or a sister shouldn’t precede the happiness of a daughter.”

Her family would be able to come say goodbye, Noelia said, but added that she wished to be alone with her doctor when the lethal injection was performed.

Her mother Yolanda said she did not agree with her daughter’s decision but “respected” it.

Spain’s euthanasia law came into force in 2021. According to government data, 426 requests for assisted dying were granted in 2024, the most recent year available.

This was the first time that a case went to court for a judge to decide.

Father tries to block daughter’s euthanasia in landmark Spanish case

Spain