The father of Noelia Castillo, a victim of gang rape, fought for years against the decision to euthanize her, but ultimately lost the battle in court.
Geronimo Castillo, with support from the Christian Bar Association, claimed that his 25-year-old daughter’s mental health challenges impaired her ability to make such a final decision.
He accused the Spanish government of failing his daughter by presenting euthanasia as an option rather than offering continued psychiatric assistance.
Before her euthanasia on Thursday, Noelia expressed her awareness of the pain her death would bring to her family, especially her father. “No one in my family supports euthanasia,” she noted, adding, “But what about all the years of suffering I have endured?”
“The well-being of a father, mother, and sister is not more important than the life of a daughter,” she asserted.
Noelia began her euthanasia process in April 2024, close to two years after a suicide attempt left her paralyzed, an event that her father reportedly witnessed.
“My father saw me fall and couldn’t do anything. But after everything he did, I no longer feel pity for him,” she revealed to Y. Ahola Sonsors in her final interview.
She recounted how her suicide attempt followed a brutal assault by three men at an entertainment venue, and shared her history of being attacked by a previous boyfriend and nearly assaulted again.
Her euthanasia was initially approved by Catalonia’s medical board in July 2024, but a court postponed it a day before the planned procedure after her father intervened.
The case moved through various Spanish courts over the course of 2025, culminating in January 2026 when Spain’s Supreme Court upheld Noelia’s choice for euthanasia, rejecting her father’s appeal.
In February, the Constitutional Court denied a further appeal, stating there was no breach of fundamental rights.
On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed a last-ditch effort to delay the proceedings.
A Barcelona judge turned down an emergency request on Thursday, allowing Noelia to receive life-sustaining medications at 6 PM local time.
The consequences of her suicide attempt left her in ongoing, “unbearable” physical and mental distress, fitting the criteria for a “severe and incurable” condition as defined by Spanish law. She maintained that she was mentally competent to make the decision to end her life.
Geronimo contended that Noelia’s history of mental health issues, particularly borderline personality disorder and OCD, indicated she lacked the necessary “mental capacity” for making genuinely free and informed choices.
