A 25-year-old Spanish woman has died by euthanasia after winning an 18-month legal battle against her father, BBC NEWS reports.
Noelia Castillo, from Barcelona, passed away on Thursday. She had been left paraplegic after a suicide attempt in 2022.
The Catalan government approved her request for assisted dying in the summer of 2024 under Spain’s 2021 euthanasia law.
However, her father, backed by the conservative group Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), lodged a last-minute objection, claiming she had a personality disorder that affected her judgment and that the state must protect vulnerable young people.
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The challenge triggered an 18-month court fight that reached the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in Castillo’s favour.
It was the first time a Spanish euthanasia case had gone before a judge.
In a television interview days earlier, Castillo spoke of a traumatic childhood spent mostly in care homes and described being sexually assaulted, first by an ex-boyfriend after she took sleeping pills, and later by several men in a nightclub.
She said she had always felt alone and was certain she wanted to “die with dignity” and end her pain.
Her mother, Yolanda, said she did not agree with the decision but respected it.
No other family members supported her choice.
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