A 23-year-old paraplegic woman is begging a Spanish court to allow her the right to end her own life, after her father managed to block her euthanasia bid.
The woman, who has not been publicly named, suffered severe injuries during a suicide attempt in 2022, and was given the go-ahead to take her own life in July 2024 by the regional government of Catalonia.
Experts from the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Catalonia (CGAC) said at the time that the woman ‘has full de facto capacity, is conscious and reasonably expresses her will’.
Experts from the board added that she was in ‘an unrecoverable clinical situation’ that causes her ‘severe dependency, pain and chronic and disabling suffering.’
Though she was due to die in August, the process was suspended at the last minute following a legal objection from her father, who was backed by the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, a campaign group.
The father argued that his daughter suffered from borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder with suicidal thoughts, conditions that he claims affect her judgement.
He added that it was the ‘obligation of the state to protect the lives of people, especially the most vulnerable, as is the case with a young person with mental health problems.’
But the woman told Spanish media: ‘I feel misunderstood by my family, I feel alone and empty, this situation causes me a great deal of suffering.’
She will today plead her case to a Barcelona judge, who will decide whether she has the right to end her own life.
Euthanasia was legalised in Spain in 2021, but this is the first time a case has been brought to a judge.
The woman is expected to face an uphill battle to fight for her right to die – even if she wins the case in Barcelona, her father can still appeal to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, which may further delay the case, local media reported.
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