Spanish woman dies by legal euthanasia in case that drew national attention

Key Points:

• Noelia Castillo, a 25-year-old Spanish woman, received euthanasia in Barcelona after a nearly two-year legal battle with her family over her right to die, following Spain's 2021 legalization of euthanasia and medically assisted suicide under specific conditions.
• Castillo, who suffered from psychiatric illness and became disabled after a suicide attempt following sexual assault, was approved for euthanasia by a Catalan medical body, but her father, supported by the conservative Catholic group Abogados Cristianos, contested the decision through multiple courts.
• Spain's Supreme Court upheld Castillo's right to euthanasia in January 2025, and the European Court of Human Rights later denied the final appeal from her father's lawyers, allowing the procedure to proceed.
• Castillo expressed that she did not want her family present at her death, feeling misunderstood, and emphasized that her suffering outweighed her family's opposition; disability rights advocates have called for a review of Spain's euthanasia law to better support people with disabilities.
• Since the law's enactment, over 1,100 people in Spain have accessed life-ending medication, with Spain being one of nine European countries permitting euthanasia or medically assisted suicide under strict conditions.