Spain’s top court rejects father’s bid to block daughter’s euthanasia

The Constitutional Court has approved euthanasia for a 25-year-old woman paralyzed in a suicide attempt 

Spain’s Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by a father seeking to halt his 25-year-old daughter’s access to euthanasia, effectively upholding her right to die under the country’s legislation.

Spain is one of several EU nations where active euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg also allow both practices under strict conditions, while Austria and Germany permit assisted dying or assisted suicide in limited circumstances. 

The latest case involves a 25-year-old woman from Barcelona named Noelia, who was left paraplegic with chronic pain after a 2022 suicide attempt in which she overdosed on medication and jumped from a fifth-floor window, according to court documents cited by Spanish media. Her injury resulted in paralysis of both legs and what is described as ongoing suffering.

In 2024, a specialized medical commission approved the woman’s request for euthanasia, and a procedure was scheduled for August 2. However, her father opposed the decision, arguing that her mental illness and disabilities impaired the ability to make an informed choice, having filed an appeal. Several lower courts backed the woman’s decision.

Read more

In its ruling on Friday, the Constitutional Court said it found no violation of fundamental rights in the earlier decisions that cleared the paralyzed woman’s path to assisted death, effectively ending the domestic legal battle. After the rejection of the appeal, lawyers for the family announced plans to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights. 

“We are taking Noelia’s case to the Strasbourg Court,” Christian Lawyers, a Catholic group acting as the legal representatives of Noelia’s father, said, commenting on the ruling. “We will defend her life until the end.”

Spain legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in June 2021, allowing adults with serious or incurable conditions to seek a medically facilitated death. According to government data, 426 people underwent euthanasia in 2024, a nearly 48% rise compared with the first full year after legalization in 2022. 

Despite broad public support for assisted dying in Spain, the law’s adoption was contentious and sparked debate between liberal reformers and opponents, including conservative political parties and the Catholic Church, who argue it devalues life.