Woman dies by euthanasia after becoming paraplegic trying to commit suicide after gang rape

[AComplicatedWoman]

This is one of the most heartbreaking news stories I have come across.

Noelia Castillo had a difficult childhood and spent much of it in care homes. She was sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend of four years after she had taken sleeping pills to help her sleep, and was assaulted on another occasion by several men in a nightclub. She attempted suicide in October 2022, and it left her unable to use her legs and in a wheelchair. Noelia conducted a long legal battle with her father for the right to end her life and she died by euthanasia on Thursday.

RIP Noelia. I am so sorry that your life was destroyed by these abhorrent abusive men.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/noelia-castillo-euthanasia-law-spain-b2946671.html

You have NO understanding of her existence. None. You can't even imagine it.

even if she was able to find kindness & therapy (I'll try not to laugh at what you imagine us available, let alone for free) kindness if strangers for treatment is NOTHING LIKE genuine love & care from family/a partner.

all the treatment in the world isn't going to make her able bodied & independent.

you're imagining a future for her which doesn't exist.

I mean Im quite shocked if that were to be the case, I cant quite believe it could be true, but then why would he say it if it wasnt?

If this is what she had wanted, she could have tried for 20 or 30 years. She didn’t.

The concerns about assisted dying ushering in a culture where people who are elderly or have disabilities or illnesses feel they should use it are real and without being addressed, valid obstacles to legalisation. This case is not that. There was a determination to die.

I don’t believe in making people continue their lives because we think they should have better options or they may feel better at some undetermined point in the future when they clearly feel otherwise.

@SomedayIllBeSaturdayNight but why should the decision be taken away from her. I am telling you, if I had been through what that poor woman went through, 20 30 or 40 years of "kindness" would NOT make me want to live! Why should it be any different for her?

That poor woman. Utterly let down by everyone. Finally allowed to take control. May she find peace

Why would he tell a lie to further his agenda? Were you born yesterday?

Because people lie. A lot. Especially about this.

And you are advocating for her death rather than trying to help her.
I work with vulnerable people, I know what is available and what isn't (in the UK) and that is exactly why I am so against assisted dying. Why put any money into helping people when we can just kill them instead? Much cheaper.

Theres no need to be rude, this conversation is quite sensitive isnt it, theres no need for hostility, people are trying to make sense of what they're reading

Whats his agenda?

I get that, but he was her lawyer the poster said?

It can be both. There is no victory or celebration. Just acceptance and deep, deep sadness that it came to this.

And yes of course it’s autonomy to be able to die when all hope is extinguished and the pain is no longer bearable. She didn’t just decide this overnight.

Is it truly a decision freely made if it is based on the abuse she suffered? Or is it her abusers finally ending her life at the hands of the state?

It’s a horrible, awful story and I feel for her immensely. I can only imagine her suffering.

Personally I can’t agree with euthanisa for mental health reasons. People do get better. People do find peace and healing.

I have a relative who spent 10 years in and out of psychiatric wards and very much wanted to die. They have now been healthy and well for 10 years and I know they are very glad that they get to enjoy their life.

It's literally an X rumour, there is no veracity to the claim at all, nothing at all to back it up. Just a poorly made screenshot of prices next to organs.

I'm not being rude, you're being incredibly naive. People tell lies all the time, even President of the United States does it frequently. Do you really need to ask what the agenda of a solicitor working for Christian Lawyers would be?

I am severely disabled.

i do not know about the medical services in Spain but the experience I have had of healthcare suppprt in the uk has been woeful.

i was in an accident and my feet were damaged so that I could not walk. I was offered four 45 minute physio sessions and 4 hour long group hydrotherapy sessions.

that was the treatment I was offered.

referrals for MH support were rejected because the nhs only offered CBT and as they said anyone in my position would get depressed. Further referrals for physio were refused on the grounds I’d already had the permitted four sessions.

fortunately I was able to access my husbands health insurance which paid for physio, hydro, seeing a neurologist and getting some pain meds,

I’m now over a decade down the line and the nhs regularly threaten to cut off my pain meds on the grounds that they “don’t help” with chronic pain. Last time this happened I did actually run out of my meds and as they are dangerous to come off cold turkey I suffered seizures and loss of speech before an official complaint I had put in made it’s way to the top of the pile and a kind GP reinstated them.

i have lifetime membership of dignitas because the nhs treats me like a total inconvenience at the best of times and I’m fucked if I’ll die in (more) hideous pain just because they can’t be arsed.

I am Roman Catholic but as I get older I am more accepting of someone else’s right to choose to end their lives.
To exist only, suffering like this young woman, spending every day so disabled and adding to that such huge trauma, I support her in her decision.
I know that it’s not an exact science. Some people may feel strong-armed into a decision, and that is not good.
Having seen an interview with this young woman, she was not without capacity.
I hope she is at peace now.

Her father shouldn’t have had the right to protest it. Not like he provided her with a stable home.

There for and against but I’m sure we can all agree she is one brave woman.

Unbearable mental pain and suffering is something I experience for over a decade in my teens and twenties. I used to pray every night that I would die in my sleep and would feel sick to my stomach when I woke up and realised I was still here. Now in my 40s I'm coping much better. I'm still on medication and not exactly thriving but I'm getting by. She was only 25, she had absolutely every chance of recovery, at least mentally, even if it had been a long slog. If I had had the opportunity for state assisted suicide for all that time I was at my worst I would have taken it. Now decades later I'm glad I didn't. I suppose all of the people raising the issue of bodily autonomy are fine with 18 year old girls getting their breasts cut off and injecting themselves with testosterone because they think they're men then?

Because he didn't say it?
Because you shouldn't believe anything you see on X?
Honestly.

You are being rude. 'were you born yesterday'

Im not naive as a person. Im asking a question thats what curiosity is

He is her lawyer apparently, Im not on X so I wouldnt know whats been said, the postrer said it was an interview with him so Im asking questions. You could obviously simply answer the question with information and facts

You havent even done so now as you would rather continue patronising.

I think everyone should have the right to choose euthanasia.

There need to be checks in place - it needs to be a considered choice sustained over a period of time, not a knee-jerk reaction to overwhelming circumstances or a decision made when the mind is unbalanced, but if you have a genuine and sustained wish to die, you should not be forced to go on living.

The choice to die also means people do not have to attempt suicide which could lead to a painful death or, as in this case, physical damage that reduces your quality of life still further.

However, if it's true this woman was wavering in her choice, it should not have gone ahead at that stage. Any euthanasia process should include the right to change your mind, right up until the last minute. It's true of any irrevocable action - sometimes clarity can come moments before you commit yourself.

This is so appalling. I'm so sorry.

I found this story very troubling.

She had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and OCD. I expect her parents suffered from similar conditions. Her life was probably very difficult and totally chaotic. That’s why neurodivergent people have high rates of suicide.

She sounds like a very vulnerable person living quite a risky lifestyle. She had taken cocaine when she jumped off the building - in a bid to kill herself - when she instead made herself a paraplegic.

Im not sure I understand why yet but my gut response is that this type of state assisted suicide is not good. Euthanasia for disabled people (physical or invisible) is a scary prospect no matter how much “suffering” is said to justify it…

I'm so glad that her father was not allowed to override her choice.

Men in her life had constantly hurt her - and he wanted to continue this - what right did he have (thankfully the court said none)

She lived her life, she knew what each day was like for her - we do not. She was of sound mind. She made her choice. We should respect that.

I think people are unrealistic about how far people can be 'fixed' once they are broken physically and mentally.

It would be much better if we focused on not causing the damage in the first place.

Not all men....... but always a man.