Noelia Castillo Ramos

Noelia Castillo Ramos was a Spanish woman who died after receiving euthanasia. Her request for euthanasia became a landmark case in Spain and a paradigm shift in the application of the Organic Law Regulating Euthanasia (LORE) in the country.

At age 25, she was one of the youngest people to receive assisted dying after demonstrating chronic and irreversible pain. Her case garnered significant public attention due to a two-year legal battle, in which the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) had to intervene to validate her right against appeals filed by her father and the Christian Lawyers Association [es], who questioned her legal capacity.

Background

When Castillo was 13, her parents lost their home, and she was taken into social care.

Castillo was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

 She was in social care from July 2015 to February 2019, when she voluntarily left as a legal adult.

Castillo suffered three incidents of sexual abuse that she did not report: one from an ex-partner, another by two men, and a third by three men.

While some figures including Vox leader Santiago Abascal disseminated that Castillo was gang-raped by unaccompanied child migrants [es] in her care centre, she did not describe the assailants and said that the incidents happened at nightclubs.

On 4 October 2022, after the second gang rape, Castillo attempted suicide by jumping from a building. She survived, but the incident left her with irreversible paraplegia, accompanied by chronic physical pain, neurological damage, and severe psychological suffering.

Campaign

After the suicide attempt, Castillo's life was marked by total dependence and persistent suffering. Faced with this situation, in 2024 she formally requested euthanasia, invoking the provisions of existing Spanish law. The main obstacle was the opposition of her father, who, with the support of the organisation Christian Lawyers, initiated a series of legal appeals to halt the procedure.

All courts rejected the request to stop the procedure and upheld Castillo's right to decide about her own death.

Despite having legal approval, the procedure was delayed for 601 days due to the protracted legal battle.

 On 10 March 2026, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg rejected the father's final appeal.

In her final interview, broadcast on Antena 3's Y ahora Sónsoles [es] on 25 March 2026, Castillo said that her decision to die was personal and she did not want other people to request euthanasia.

Castillo's euthanasia was debated in the Congress of Deputies. Politicians from parties including the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Republican Left of Catalonia, Galician Nationalist Bloc, EH Bildu and Sumar spoke in support.

The People's Party and Vox criticised the decision.

On 26 March 2026, Castillo, age 25, underwent euthanasia at a healthcare centre in Sant Pere de Ribes in the Province of Barcelona. The procedure consisted of the intravenous administration of drugs that induced deep sedation and subsequent respiratory arrest, designed to prevent the patient from experiencing pain. Her mother requested to be present in the room, but she chose to die alone.