Woman Dies After Prolonged Legal Battle with Father Over Right to Die

A 25-year-old Spanish woman, Noelia Castillo, died by euthanasia on Thursday, March 26 2026, ending a long legal dispute with her father over her right to die.

Castillo, who lived in Barcelona, had been paralysed since 2022 following a previous suicide attempt.

Castillo had battled psychiatric illness since her teenage years.

In October 2022, after being sexually assaulted, she attempted to take her own life. The attempt left her in constant pain and reliant on a wheelchair, dramatically affecting her quality of life.

Despite her struggles, Castillo remained determined to make decisions about her own life. She had been in psychiatric treatment since she was 13 and had made repeated suicide attempts.

Legal Battle Delays Euthanasia

In mid-2024, the Catalan government approved her request for assisted dying. However, her father launched a last-minute legal challenge that delayed the procedure.

He was supported by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), a conservative advocacy group.

The group argued that Castillo’s psychiatric condition impaired her judgment.

On X, they stated:

“The key to Noelia’s case: her problem is psychiatric, not physical. Constitutional Court (STC 94/2023): euthanasia cannot be applied when the source of suffering is a mental illness. The State has an obligation to protect these individuals from the risk of suicide.”

After nearly two years of legal challenges through regional and national courts, the European Court of Human Rights rejected her father’s request to halt the euthanasia procedure.

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Decision on Her Own Terms

On Thursday evening, March 26, Castillo’s wish for an assisted death was granted in a medical facility in Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona province.

In a television interview recorded days before her death, Castillo explained her decision:

“I just want to go peacefully now and to stop suffering. That’s all … there’s nothing I want to do. I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to do anything. I’ve always felt alone because I’ve never felt understood … before I applied for euthanasia, my world was a very dark place, and I foresaw a very dark end. I had no aims, no goals, nothing, and I still don’t,” Castillo said.

She also addressed misconceptions about her daily life:

“They’ve said I just lie in bed. But I get up out of bed, and I shower myself. And I put my makeup on by myself … I’ve managed to do it at last. Let’s see if I can rest now because I can’t go on. I can’t go on with this family, I can’t go on with the pain, and I can’t go on with all the stuff that’s tormenting my mind,” she added.

Castillo emphasized that her decision was personal:

“I don’t want anyone to follow in my footsteps. I don’t want there to be people asking how the process works because they want euthanasia, and they want to know how it’s done. I don’t want them to think about that. I just feel that my life is my life and that I’m not an example to anyone, be it for good or for ill. It’s just my life, and that’s all there is to it,” she said.

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Public Debate and Legal Context

Castillo’s case reignited public debate on euthanasia in Spain. Under the law introduced in 2021, adults with a “serious and incurable illness or a serious, chronic, and disabling condition” can request assisted dying if they are capable and conscious.

Applicants must submit two written requests and undergo consultations with independent medical professionals before approval by a regional committee of experts.

The law allows two methods: direct administration of a fatal substance by an authorized health worker, or prescription of such a substance for patients who wish to end their own lives.

According to Spain’s health ministry, 1,123 people had an assisted death between June 2021 and the end of 2024.

Christian Lawyers held a press conference outside the hospital after Castillo’s death, maintaining their opposition to the euthanasia law:

“Noelia’s case had moved the entire world. The euthanasia law must be abolished. Every life should be defended, not abandoned.”

What is Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending a person’s life to relieve them from severe pain or suffering, usually due to a serious or terminal illness.

It is typically discussed in medical and legal contexts and can take different forms:

• Voluntary euthanasia – when a person chooses it themselves.
• Non-voluntary euthanasia – when the person cannot give consent.
• Assisted dying – when a doctor provides the means, but the person takes the final action.

It’s a very sensitive and controversial topic, and the legality of euthanasia varies from country to country.

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People gather outside a hospital where Noelia Castillo died by euthanasia
PHOTO/AP