Noelia Castillo Ramos, Age 25, Was Euthanized Yesterday in Spain after a 601-Day Court Battle for the Right to Die

Noelia Castillo Ramos was sexually assaulted on 2 separate occasions in 2022. Shortly after the second assault, on Oct. 4, 2022, she jumped from a 5th-floor building. She survived but was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down with chronic pain, neurological damage, and severe psychological trauma.

In April 2024, she requested euthanasia under Spain’s Organic Law Regulating Euthanasia (LORE), passed in 2021. The law requires the person to be of legal age, mentally competent, and suffering from a serious incurable or chronically disabling condition. Over 1,100 people have received euthanasia in Spain since 2021. Noelia was among the youngest. An expert committee unanimously approved her request in July 2024. It was scheduled for Aug. 2.

Her father, Gerónimo Castillo, fought it at every level. He argued that her borderline personality disorder and a prior 67% mental disability rating impaired her judgment. He was represented by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), an ultra-conservative Catholic legal group that claimed the euthanasia law itself was flawed and that Noelia lacked the mental competence to make the request.

The case became the first euthanasia case in Spain to reach a full trial. It delayed the procedure by 601 days. Spanish courts rejected his arguments at every level: the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, the Supreme Court, and finally the Constitutional Court, which dismissed the case in Feb. 2026. He then appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which rejected the request for interim measures on March 10. On March 26 — the day of the procedure — his legal team filed a last-minute emergency injunction with a Barcelona judge, who denied it due to lack of jurisdiction.

Her father told her she “had no heart” and that “everything she said was a lie.” Noelia told interviewers she “couldn’t take this family anymore” alongside the physical pain. Her mother and sister disagreed with the decision but ultimately respected it.

In her final TV interview with Antena 3, aired the day before her death, Noelia said: “I just want to go peacefully now and to stop suffering. I’ve always felt alone because I’ve never felt understood. Before I applied for euthanasia, my world was a very dark place and I foresaw a very dark end. I had no aims, no goals, nothing, and I still don’t.”

She also said: “I don’t want to be an example for anyone. It’s simply my life.”

She requested to be alone with medical staff during the procedure. Her mother respected this. She said goodbye to her family beforehand. She planned to “look her best,” wearing a dress and makeup.

She was euthanized at approximately 6 PM on March 26 at the care facility in Sant Pere de Ribes where she’d lived. The procedure took roughly 15 minutes.

Her childhood friend Carla Rodriguez arrived at the facility in tears, begging staff to let her see Noelia in a last attempt to change her mind. The two had lost touch. Rodriguez heard about it on the news.