Noelia Castillo, a 25-year-old paraplegic who spent months fighting her father for the right to euthanasia, has died by assisted death in a medical facility in Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona province. Castillo had struggled with psychiatric illness since her teens and was left in constant pain and using a wheelchair after a suicide attempt in October 2022, which followed a sexual assault.
Her attempts to obtain euthanasia under Spain's 2021 law were opposed by her father and the ultra-conservative group Christian Lawyers, who argued her psychiatric condition prevented her from making an informed decision. Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights rejected her father's request to delay the procedure.
In a TV interview recorded days before her death, Castillo defended her decision, saying, 'I just want to go peacefully now and to stop suffering.' She added, 'I've always felt alone because I've never felt understood... my world was a very dark place.'
Castillo's case refocused attention on euthanasia in Spain, where 1,123 people have had assisted deaths since the law came into effect in June 2021. The law allows assisted dying for those with serious and incurable illnesses causing unbearable suffering, subject to multiple requests and expert approvals.
Christian Lawyers held a press conference outside the hospital where Castillo died, calling for the abolition of the euthanasia law. In a statement, it said, 'Every life should be defended, not abandoned.'
