Girl who survived gang rape granted right to euthanasia: "I can't take it anymore, I want to die peacefully"

Noelia Castillo will undergo the procedure on Thursday at the rehabilitation center where she currently lives, bringing to an end a legal battle that has lasted more than a year and a half.

Her request for euthanasia was approved by the Catalan government in July 2024, but the process was subsequently delayed when her father, supported by the ultraconservative Catholic organization “Christian Lawyers,” filed a series of legal appeals.

These appeals were rejected at multiple levels of the Spanish judicial system, including the Constitutional Court of Spain and the Supreme Court of Spain, clearing the way for the euthanasia to proceed.

An attempt to halt the procedure at the last minute before the European Court of Human Rights was also rejected this week. While the court will continue to examine the case, its decision means there is no need for further postponement of the procedure.

Castillo, who has been in a wheelchair since 2022, has spoken openly about her decision and the suffering she says led her to it.

“I want to go now and stop suffering, period. No one in my family supports euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve endured all these years? I have no will for anything, not to go out, not to eat. Sleeping is very hard for me, and I have pain in my back and legs,” she said.

Speaking about her family members, she added, “The happiness of a father, mother, or sister cannot be more important than the life of a daughter.”

She wants to be alone at the end
In an interview aired on Spanish television channel Antena 3, she described how she wants to spend her final moments.

“I told them how I want it to look. I want to die beautiful. I’ve always thought I want to look beautiful when I die. I will wear my nicest dress and put on makeup—it will be something simple,” she said.

She invited family members to say their goodbyes beforehand but emphasized that she wants to be alone when receiving the injection.

Castillo spent much of her childhood in child care institutions due to her parents’ struggles with addiction and mental health, and she says that the gang rape in 2022 was a turning point in her life.

According to Spanish media reports, a few days before she attempted to take her own life, she was sexually assaulted by a former partner along with three other men.