Spain approves euthanasia for woman paralysed in suicide attempt, despite father's disapproval

Spain’s Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by the father of a 25‑year‑old woman who opposed her right to euthanasia, clearing the way for the procedure to go ahead, the court said on Friday (20 February).

Spain legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2021, becoming the fourth European Union member to allow terminally ill or severely debilitating patients to request assistance in dying. Government data shows that 426 people received such support in 2024.

The woman, who suffers from a psychiatric illness, became paraplegic (permanently paralysed from the waist down) following a suicide attempt in October 2022, when she jumped from a fifth-storey window. The incident left her with chronic pain and no prospect of improvement.

A specialised expert committee in Catalonia approved her request for euthanasia in July 2024, scheduling the procedure for 2 August but her father subsequently blocked it through the courts.

Impact of mental illness

The father, supported by the ultra‑conservative advocacy group Abogados Cristianos (“Christian Lawyers”), argued that his daughter’s mental illness prevented her from making a fully informed decision.

Several lower courts had previously ruled in the woman’s favour.

On Friday, the Constitutional Court, Spain’s highest tribunal, concluded that her fundamental rights had not been violated, effectively allowing the euthanasia process to proceed.

While public opinion in Spain broadly supports assisted dying, the law faced prolonged opposition from conservative parties and the Catholic Church, which historically shaped the country’s approach to end‑of‑life issues.

Abogados Cristianos said it would escalate the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“We will not abandon these parents. We will continue to fight to the end to defend their right to save their daughter’s life,” said the group’s head, Polonia Castellanos.

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