In the south of Spain, in the city of Almería, a mural appeared that marks the story of Noelia Castillo, the 25-year-old girl who died euthanized in Barcelona.
The work, signed by Nauni Moreno Lopez, depicts the young woman’s face and includes the phrases “The right to be able to decide” e “Your pain is the shame of the system”.
The artist explained on social media that he did not know Noelia, but stated that respect for his decision is essentialarguing that No one has the legitimacy to decide on another person’s life or death.
Almost two years of waiting
In 2022, Noelia became paraplegic after a suicide attemptwhen jumped from the fifth floor of a building. The request for medically assisted death was approved in July 2024 by the Catalan Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, the entity responsible for analyzing these cases in light of the law.
The young Catalan had to face her father in a two-year legal battle that went through the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and even the Strasbourg Human Rights Courtwho ended up authorizing her to proceed with the procedure.
Geronimo Castillo claimed that the daughter did not have the psychological capabilities to make the decision to put end of lifebut several Medical evaluations ensured that the young woman was in full possession of her mental faculties.
The process
The process lasts 15 minutes and consists of administering a cocktail of three different drugs. The law allows the person to be accompanied, but Noelia expressly asked that her parents not be present.
Euthanasia was decriminalized in Spain in 2021, two years before Portugalallowing patients in situation of suffering considered unbearable to resort to this procedure. Until end of 2024were registered 1,123 non-country casesaccording to official data.
