Overview
- Noelia Castillo Ramos, 25, is set to receive euthanasia Thursday, following Tuesday’s refusal by the European Court of Human Rights to freeze the case.
- Spain’s Supreme Court and then the Constitutional Court left in place Catalan decisions upholding her request, and Strasbourg’s move was an interim measure that did not rule on the wider human-rights claims.
- An independent Catalan review body in July 2024 unanimously found she met Spain’s legal test of a serious, chronic, incapacitating condition and confirmed her decision was free and informed.
- Her father, supported by the conservative group Abogados Cristianos, argued she lacked capacity and filed repeated challenges, while her mother says she will accompany her despite disagreeing with the choice.
- The case, centered on a young adult living in a Sant Pere de Ribes care residence near Barcelona, is fueling calls to clarify how much families can delay or block a competent adult’s euthanasia under Spain’s 2021 law.