MADRID — In a poignant conclusion to a deeply personal and public struggle, Noelia Castillo, a young woman from Spain, exercised her right to euthanasia on Thursday in Barcelona. At just 25 years old, her journey toward this decision was marked by legal challenges and family opposition, capturing the attention of many across the nation.
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Castillo’s pursuit of euthanasia spanned nearly two years, beginning when she sought approval from a medical body in Catalonia. Her father, however, launched a legal battle to prevent her from proceeding, even after her request was granted in 2024. This legal tug-of-war was closely monitored across Spain, a country that had legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2021 for those meeting specific criteria.
The emotional weight of Castillo’s case was palpable, fueled by her youth and the familial conflict that unfolded publicly. This story of personal autonomy versus familial intervention sparked widespread debate and introspection about the nation’s euthanasia laws.
In a heartfelt interview with Spanish broadcaster Antena 3, aired the day before her death, Castillo expressed her relief at finally being able to make this choice. “At last, I’ve managed it, so let’s see if I can finally rest now,” she said. “I just cannot go on anymore.”
Despite her resolve, Castillo’s parents remained opposed to her decision until the very end. They were represented by Abogados Cristianos, a conservative Catholic organization that confirmed her passing at a Barcelona hospital. Outside the hospital, a small group of supporters gathered, underscoring the divisive nature of her courageous decision.
Attorney Polonia Castellanos, president of Abogados Cristianos, said Castillo’s family was deeply disappointed with the outcome, and believed the Spanish government had abandoned and failed their daughter by allowing her to die.
“Death is the last option, especially when you’re very young,” Castellanos said.
A lengthy legal battle
Castillo struggled with psychiatric illness since she was a teenager, and tried taking her life twice, she said, the second time after she was sexually assaulted. The injuries she suffered from her second suicide attempt in 2022 left her unable to use her legs and in a wheelchair.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Castillo has done.
In April 2024, Castillo solicited euthanasia with an independent body in Catalonia made up of doctors, lawyers and bioethics experts who deliberate on the application of Spain’s law.
The body approved Castillo’s request based on assessments that evaluated her condition as serious and incurable, and that the 25-year-old had severe, chronic and debilitating suffering.
Spain legalized physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in 2021 for those suffering from terminal illness and for people with unbearable permanent conditions. The process involves submitting two requests in writing followed up by consultations with medical professionals not previously involved in the case. The law faced intense criticism from conservative political parties and the Catholic Church.
Castillo’s father appealed the Catalan body’s decision, and a court in August 2024 suspended the euthanasia request while it deliberated. Through Abogados Cristianos, Castillo’s father argued that his daughter’s mental illness rendered her incapable of making the decision to end her life.
When a Barcelona court ruled in favor of Castillo’s right to euthanasia, her father’s lawyers appealed again, with the case eventually reaching Spain’s Supreme Court. In January, the court upheld Castillo’s rights. Abogados Cristianos made a final attempt to halt the procedure by appealing to the European Court of Human Rights, which denied the request earlier this month.
Before Castillo died Thursday, Castellanos repeated her client’s view that Castillo had a personality disorder, and said the case was an example of the euthanasia law failing citizens.
“I think this is proof of the failure of the law and that it has to be urgently repealed,” she said. “We’ve been told it was a law for very extreme cases, for people who were very ill, who were practically dying. Here we see that it’s being used to end the life … of a girl of only 25 years who has her whole life ahead of her and who has a treatable illness.”
Castillo’s final wishes
Speaking to Spanish TV, Castillo said she did not want her family to be around when she died, claiming that she was misunderstood. She acknowledged the glaring media spotlight that her case had drawn.
“None of my family is in favor of euthanasia, obviously, because I’m another pillar of the family,” she said, adding, “but what about the pain that I’ve suffered all of these years?”
A disability rights group in Madrid called for a review of Spain’s euthanasia law, adding that it was essential to improve resources for those with disabilities, chronic illnesses or situations of high dependency.
“Before facilitating death, the system must effectively guarantee the conditions for living with dignity,” said Javier Font, president of the Federation of Associations of People with Physical and Organic Disabilities of Madrid, in a statement.
Spain is among nine European countries with laws that allow people experiencing unbearable suffering to access assisted dying, according to Dignity in Dying, a U.K.-based rights group that advocates in favor of euthanasia and medically assisted suicide. The criteria vary by country.
Medically-assisted suicide involves patients themselves taking a lethal drink or medication that has been prescribed by a doctor while euthanasia involves doctors or health practitioners, under strict conditions, actively killing patients who meet certain conditions by giving them a lethal injection at their request.
Since Spain adopted its euthanasia law, 1,123 people have been administered life-ending medicine through the end of 2024, according to the country’s health ministry.
Castillo said she never questioned her decision as she had to reassert her desire to end her life. The calculus for her was simple.
“The happiness of a father or a mother should not supersede the happiness of a daughter.”
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A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that Spain is among nine European Union countries with laws allowing some people to access to assisted dying. This version corrects it to say it is among nine European countries.
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