A paraplegic gang-rape victim has become the first person in Spain to die by euthanasia after courts overruled her father’s efforts to stop the procedure.
Noelia Castillo, from Barcelona, died on Thursday at the Sant Pere de Ribes assisted living facility where she resided, bringing to an end a legal battle that has lasted more than a year and a half.
Christian Lawyers, the organisation which has been representing Noelia’s father, said tonight: ‘Noelia has already been euthanised.
‘At Christian Lawyers, we deeply regret her death and denounce that this case highlights the serious flaws in the euthanasia law, which does not protect the most vulnerable people.
‘We urge politicians to use her story to drive urgent changes and prevent something like this from happening again.
‘Thanks to everyone who has empathised with the family during these very difficult times.
‘You can understand that the parents are broken after years of trying to support her in her rehabilitation.’
The 25-year-old had been left paraplegic after jumping from a roof in a suicide attempt.
Noelia Castillo, from Barcelona, died by euthanisia on Thursday at the Sant Pere de Ribes assisted living facility
Noelia Castillo and her mother, Yolanda, who said: ‘I do not agree, but I will always be by her side’
Her request for euthanasia was approved by the Catalan government in July 2024, but was subsequently delayed when her father, supported by the ultraconservative Catholic group Christian Lawyers, launched a series of legal challenges.
Those appeals were rejected at multiple levels of the Spanish legal system, including the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, clearing the way for the euthanasia to go ahead.
A last-minute attempt to halt it at the European Court of Human Rights was also rejected this week.
While the court will continue to examine the case, its decision means there is no need to delay the procedure.
Castillo, who was confined to a wheelchair since 2022, had spoken openly about her decision and the suffering she says led her to it.
‘I want to go now and stop suffering, period. None of my family is in favor of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve suffered during all these years?’ she said.
‘I don’t feel like doing anything: not going out, not eating. Sleeping is very difficult for me, and I have back and leg pain.’
‘The happiness of a father, a mother, or a sister,’ she said, referring to her family members, ‘cannot be more important than the life of a daughter’.
In an interview broadcast on the Spanish Antena 3 programme Y Ahora Sonsoles, she described how she wants to spend her final moments.
‘I’ve told them how I want it to be. I want to die looking beautiful. I’ve always thought I want to die looking good. I’ll wear my prettiest dress and put on makeup; it will be something simple,’ she said.
She has invited her family to say goodbye beforehand, but said she wants to be alone when the injection is administered.
Castillo spent much of her childhood in care due to her parents’ addiction and mental health problems, and has said a gang rape in 2022 was a turning point.
She was reportedly sexually abused by one of her ex-boyfriends and later three other men days before she attempted to take her own life, according to Spanish media.
‘I didn’t report it because it was days before I tried to kill myself,’ she said of the assault.
On October 4, 2022, after using cocaine, she jumped from the fifth floor of a building, leaving her paraplegic.
She suffered a severe spinal cord injury, which has left her unable to move from the waist down and caused severe neuropathic pain and incontinence, according to El Mundo.
‘My father saw me fall and couldn’t do anything,’ the 25-year-old said, ‘But after everything he’s done, I don’t feel sorry for him anymore.’
Her father sought to block her euthanasia through the courts, arguing against her right to die, but she accused him of failing to respect her wishes.
‘He hasn’t respected my decision and he never will,’ she said in her final interview.
‘He wanted to put the house he bought in my name so he could continue collecting child support. After that, he doesn’t want to put the house in my name, or pay for the funeral, or attend the euthanasia, or the burial, and he says he doesn’t want to know anything more about me. That for him I’m already dead.
The deputy of the VOX conservative party, Espinosa de los Monteros, gives his support to the demonstration against the euthanasia law in front of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid
‘I understand. He’s a father and he doesn’t want to lose a daughter, but he doesn’t listen to me. He never calls me, he never writes to me. The only thing he does is bring me food. Why does he want me alive? To keep me in a hospital?’
Prior to her suicide attempt in 2022, the young woman had reportedly already attempted to take her own life through drug overdoses and self-harm, El Mundo reports.
According to reports, Castillo also suffers from borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder with paranoia and suicidal ideation, leading to severe mood swings and instability.
Spain is one of few countries to legalise euthanasia following a 2021 law that comes with strict requirements.
It stipulates that anyone of sound mind who is suffering from a ‘serious and incurable illness’ or a ‘chronic and disabling’ condition can request assistance to die.
The father had said his daughter suffered from mental disorders that ‘could affect her ability to make a free and conscious decision’ as required by law.
He also said there were indications she had changed her mind and that her ailment did not entail ‘unbearable physical or psychological suffering’.
Despite the intense legal fight, Castillo herself contacted Antena 3 after learning the date of her euthanasia to leave a final message.
‘I’ve finally done it. Let’s see if I can finally rest because I can’t take this family anymore, the pain, everything that torments me from what I’ve been through,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to be an example for anyone, it’s simply my life, and that’s all.’
Her mother, who also appeared in the interview, said she wished she had a ‘magic wand’ to change her daughter’s mind.
Although she has now died, legal action surrounding the case will continue.
Christian Lawyers has launched further complaints against medical professionals and members of Catalonia’s Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, as well as the former regional health minister, alleging misconduct.
The European Court of Human Rights is also expected to rule at a later date on whether there has been any violation of rights, meaning the wider legal questions.
For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org
