Noelia Castillo Ramos, from Spain’s Barcelona, is scheduled to be euthanised today, Thursday. The 25-year-old’s life decision to end her life comes after a long legal battle with her father, which concluded with the ruling in her favour.
Noelia said she was raped on two occasions, once by her ex-boyfriend and the second time by three boys in 2022, as per a report by Sky News.
What happened to Noelia
Noelia jumped from the fifth floor of an apartment in October 2022 in a cocaine-fuelled suicide attempt, after having previously overdosed on medication, mentioned the UK-based media outlet’s report, citing legal rulings.
The fall left her paraplegic, and she now suffers from severe, chronic and debilitating pain with no prospect of recovery, the 25-year-old’s medical reports showed.
Noelia’s first application for euthanasia
Two years after the incident, Noelia formally applied for assisted death. In July 2024, her request was initially granted by a specialised expert committee in Catalonia.
Spain legalised both voluntary euthanasia and assisted death in March 2021, allowing adults with serious, incurable conditions that cause unbearable suffering to choose to end their lives, provided they can give informed consent.
Under Spanish law, voluntary euthanasia involves a doctor administering a lethal injection, while assisted death allows a patient to self-administer medication provided by a doctor.
Noelia’s procedure was scheduled for 2 August 2024, but her father had blocked it.
Legal battle with father
Noelia’s father – Geronimo Castillo, supported by ultra-conservative advocacy group Abogados Cristianos or Christian Lawyers – reportedly argued that Noelia’s mental illness impaired her ability to decide to end her life, as per Sky News.
He challenged Noelia’s euthanasia request – taking it through Spain’s courts, finally reaching Spain’s highest tribunal, the Constitutional Court, in February. The court rejected his argument, ruling that there had been no violation of fundamental rights.
Geronimo Castillo then approached the European Court of Human Rights, which on March 10 declined his request for interim measures to halt the procedure, according to El Pais. In a final attempt, his legal team sought “urgent precautionary measures” from a lower court, but a judge dismissed the request, citing lack of jurisdiction.
What parents said
“I want to go now in peace and stop suffering, period,” Noelia told Spanish TV programme Y Ahora Sonsoles in her interview that was recorded at her maternal grandmother’s house.
Noelia’s mother, Yolanda ‘Yoli’ Ramos, told the broadcaster that while she hopes her daughter may reconsider, she will stand by her “until the very end.”
When Noelia would be euthanised?
Noelia Castillo Ramos’s euthanasia is scheduled for 5pm Spanish time, which is 4pm UK time (9:30 PM IST) – reported Sky News, citing sources aware of the matter.
