Rape victim used euthanasia: The case of Noelia Castillo (†25) divides Spain

Barcelona (Spain) – It was her greatest and last wish: 25-year-old Noelia Castillo wanted to die. Now it was fulfilled for her – through an injection that caused her heart to fail. Even after her death, the case of active euthanasia in Spain continues to cause heated debates.

The young woman died of her own volition in a hospital in Barcelona in the evening, as the Ministry of Health for the Catalonia region announced. Her father fought against her decision for a year and a half using all means possible and lost: the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected his complaint this week.

Did she want to die after being gang raped?

Noelia Castillo’s reason was that she wanted to die in 2022 after being gang raped. The crime was never reported because the 25-year-old said she decided to end her life afterwards. She jumped from the roof of a high-rise building while drugged. Since the suicide attempt, she was paralyzed, suffered from pain and was in a wheelchair.

Noelia Castillo is now the youngest person to be active in Spain since legalization almost five years ago euthanasia has taken advantage of. This and the fact that psychological suffering following severe trauma played a central role triggered a lot of criticism from conservative politicians and the Catholic Church in Spain, among others.

Lethal injection delayed by saying goodbye to family

The woman publicly expressed her wishes in an interview shortly before her death on Wednesday evening. “I can no longer deal with everything that is tormenting me in my head, what I have experienced,” explained Castillo to the TV station “Antena 3”. “I want to go now and stop suffering. Period,” she said in a quiet but sure voice. She had lost her will to live: “I don’t feel like doing anything: I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to eat,” said the 25-year-old.

As the station reported, saying goodbye to the family in the hospital took longer than planned. The injection was therefore given later than 6 p.m. as originally set. For her last evening, the Spanish woman wanted to wear her favorite dress and finally look beautiful when she dies. At the time of her death she wanted to be alone.