Spain Euthanasia: Noelia’s 20-Month Fight for Right to Die

Noelia Castillo, a young Spanish woman whose battle with physical and emotional pain gained international attention, died by euthanasia Thursday at age 25. Her case sparked intense debate in Spain regarding assisted suicide, which has been legal in the country since 2021.

Noelia Castillo’s Struggle

“I want to leave in peace already and stop suffering, period,” Castillo said days before her death, in an interview on the Spanish news channel Antena 3.

Castillo’s decision stemmed from a difficult childhood following her parents’ separation when she was 13. She spent time in supervised care and was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder.

She recounted to her interviewer three episodes of sexual abuse: one allegedly perpetrated by an ex-partner, another in a nightclub where she said two men raped her, and a third in a bar involving three young men. She stated she never reported any of these incidents. Following the second episode in October 2022, she attempted suicide and survived, but was left paraplegic and wheelchair-bound.

This experience led her to consider euthanasia. She described feeling constant physical pain, including back and leg pain, as well as profound emotional suffering. Before requesting euthanasia, “My world was very dark … I had no goals, no objectives, nothing,” she said.

Legal Battles and Approval

Castillo’s request for euthanasia was approved on July 18, 2024, by the Catalonia Guarantee and Evaluation Commission. The commission determined she met all legal requirements, citing a “nonrecoverable clinical situation” causing “severe dependence, pain, and chronic, disabling suffering” that prevented her from living autonomously and negatively impacted her daily life.

However, her father initiated a legal challenge, advised by the ultraconservative religious group Christian Lawyers, arguing she was incapable of making such a decision. “He has not respected my decision and he never will,” Castillo said of her father.

For 20 months, her father pursued legal action through five judicial levels: a Barcelona court, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. None of these bodies opposed Castillo’s decision, all finding she met the requirements and was capable of deciding to end her life.

“I understand he’s a father, that he doesn’t want to lose a daughter,” Castillo reflected. She added that she felt confused by his opposition, as they did not have a close relationship. “He ignores me. So why does he want me alive? To keep me in a hospital?” she said.

Castillo carried out her decision at the Sant Pere de Ribes hospital, where she had been living.

“I finally did it, and now maybe I can finally rest,” she told the Antena 3 journalist. “I can’t take this family anymore, I can’t take the pain anymore, I can’t take everything that torments me in my head.”

Castillo said goodbye to her family and requested to be left alone in her final moments. “I don’t want anyone inside” her room, she said. “I don’t want them to see me close my eyes.”