Overview
- U.S. officials, in statements Wednesday, urged Spain to open an inquiry into the euthanasia of Noelia Castillo, with human rights envoy Riley Barnes calling for authorities to examine the case.
- Noelia Castillo, who died Thursday, March 26, did so after Spanish courts upheld her written request under the 2021 euthanasia law, and the European Court of Human Rights rejected her father's last-minute appeals.
- Fact-checkers and court records have debunked viral claims, including a July 2024 note that judges ruled was written under coercion, false stories blaming alleged migrant attackers, and an AI-generated hospital photo posed as a last image.
- Spanish and Catalan officials defended the process as tightly supervised by medical teams and an independent review commission, with leaders publicly backing health workers and the right to a dignified death under the law.
- Reports of a U.S. diplomatic cable citing supposed last-minute reluctance and queries about suspects' migration status have added strain to ties already under pressure from disputes over U.S. military use of Spanish airspace related to Iran.