How rape victim won court approval to end her life as father loses bid to stop her

By Tolulope Oke

A 25-year-old gang-rape victim left paraplegic after a suicide attempt has won the legal battle to end her life through euthanasia, after Spanish courts overruled her father’s efforts to stop the procedure.

Noelia Castillo, from Barcelona, will undergo assisted dying on Thursday at the Sant Pere de Ribes assisted living facility, ending a legal fight that has lasted more than a year and a half.

Her request for euthanasia was initially approved by the Catalan government in July 2024 but was delayed after her father, supported by the ultraconservative Catholic group Christian Lawyers, filed a series of legal challenges.

Appeals to multiple levels of the Spanish legal system, including the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, were rejected, clearing the way for the procedure. A last-minute bid at the European Court of Human Rights was also denied.

Castillo, who has been confined to a wheelchair since 2022 following a suicide attempt, has openly spoken about her decision and the suffering that 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.

In an interview broadcast on the Spanish Antena 3 programme Y Ahora Sonsoles, Castillo detailed 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.

Castillo has invited her family to say goodbye before the procedure but wants to be alone when the injection is administered.

The young woman endured a traumatic childhood in care due to her parents’ addiction and mental health issues. In 2022, she was reportedly sexually assaulted by an ex-boyfriend and three other men days before she attempted to take her own life by jumping from a fifth-floor building. The fall left her paraplegic and in constant neuropathic pain.

Her father sought to block her euthanasia, claiming she suffered from mental disorders that could affect her ability to make a free and conscious decision. Castillo accused him of failing to respect her wishes, saying: “He hasn’t respected my decision and he never will… Why does he want me alive? To keep me in a hospital?”

Despite her suffering, Castillo stressed that her decision is personal. “I don’t want to be an example for anyone, it’s simply my life, and that’s all,” she said.

While her euthanasia is set to proceed, legal action surrounding the case is ongoing. Christian Lawyers has filed 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, meaning wider legal questions raised by the case remain unresolved.