Paralyzed gang rape victim dies by euthanasia – despite objections

Noelia Castillo fought a legal battle for years to gain the right to end her life after suffering multiple mental and physical pains.

In an interview the day before her death, Castillo recounted three separate episodes of sexual abuse: one allegedly committed by an ex-partner, another at a nightclub where she said two men raped her, and a third at a bar involving three young men.

In October 2022, days after her third attack, she jumped from a fifth-floor apartment window in an attempt to commit suicide. She survived the attempt, but was left paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, which only worsened her pain.

“Sleeping is very difficult for me, and I also have back and leg pain,” she told Spanish program Antena 3. Y Ahora Sonsoles. “I want to go now and stop suffering, period.”

But her friends and family begged her to stay. Just an hour before her death, Castillo’s childhood best friend showed up at Barcelona hospital in a final attempt to talk her out of it.

Carla Rodriguez urged hospital security to let her see her friend, but officers ultimately blocked her from entering the room before it was too late.

“I wanted to try to convince her to change her mind,” Rodriguez said through tears. “Noelia has been through so much, so much.”

Assisted suicide has been legal in Spain since 2021 for people suffering from terminal illness and for those with unbearable permanent conditions. The process involves submitting two written requests, followed by consultation with medical professionals not previously involved in the case.

Castillo was granted her request in 2024, but she still faced a long legal battle from opponents, including her father. Abogados Cristianos argued that his daughter’s mental illness left her incapable of making the decision to end her life.

“He didn’t respect my decision and he never will,” Castillo said of her father. “I understand he’s a father and he doesn’t want to lose a daughter.”

She confessed that she didn’t know why he was putting in so much effort since the two weren’t in a close relationship.

‘He’s ignoring me. Then why does he want me alive? To keep me in a hospital?’ she asked. “No one in my family is in favor of euthanasia, of course, because I am another pillar of the family. But what about the pain I have suffered all these years?”

Since Spain passed the euthanasia law, 1,123 people have been given life-ending drugs by the end of 2024, according to the Spanish Ministry of Health.

Castillo said she never doubted her decision and ultimately found peace.

“I finally did it, and now maybe I can finally rest,” she told Antena 3. “I can’t stand this family anymore, I can’t stand the pain anymore, I can’t stand everything that’s tormenting me in my head.”