Catholic bishops in Spain have spoken out following the euthanasia death of gang-rape victim Noelia Castillo, a 25-year-old woman whose case has renewed debate over assisted suicide.
Jose Mazuelos Perez, bishop of the Canary Islands, said in response to the case that “we have all failed as a society,” according to EuroNews. He argued that Spain’s 2021 right-to-die law was "another step towards a culture of death, throwing in the towel on the humanisation of medicine.”
“There is a desire to require the doctor to end Noelia’s life, when a doctor’s mission is to cure and, if they cannot cure, to accompany and relieve,” he explained
The bishops of the Subcommission for the Family and the Defence of Life added that Castilo’s death was “an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional shortcomings that calls the whole of society into question."
Castillo’s case involved a series of traumatic events, as she had previously been the victim of a gang rape by three men. Following a suicide attempt, she was left paralyzed from the waist down. She was approved for assisted suicide in 2024.
Her father opposed the decision and challenged it, with support from the Spanish religious group Abogados Cristianos. The group said, “If deliberately caused death is the solution to problems, then anything goes.”
In an interview with the Spanish program “Y Ahora Sonsoles,” Castillo explained, “I want to go now and stop suffering, period. None of my family is in favor of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve suffered during all these years?”
The Spanish Bishops' Conference called the case regrettable, and its president, Luis Argüello, said, "A doctor cannot act as the executioner for a death sentence, however legal, empowering or compassionate it may appear.”
Jose Mazuelos Perez, bishop of the Canary Islands, said in response to the case that “we have all failed as a society,” according to EuroNews. He argued that Spain’s 2021 right-to-die law was "another step towards a culture of death, throwing in the towel on the humanisation of medicine.”
“There is a desire to require the doctor to end Noelia’s life, when a doctor’s mission is to cure and, if they cannot cure, to accompany and relieve,” he explained
The bishops of the Subcommission for the Family and the Defence of Life added that Castilo’s death was “an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional shortcomings that calls the whole of society into question."
Castillo’s case involved a series of traumatic events, as she had previously been the victim of a gang rape by three men. Following a suicide attempt, she was left paralyzed from the waist down. She was approved for assisted suicide in 2024.
Her father opposed the decision and challenged it, with support from the Spanish religious group Abogados Cristianos. The group said, “If deliberately caused death is the solution to problems, then anything goes.”
In an interview with the Spanish program “Y Ahora Sonsoles,” Castillo explained, “I want to go now and stop suffering, period. None of my family is in favor of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve suffered during all these years?”
The Spanish Bishops' Conference called the case regrettable, and its president, Luis Argüello, said, "A doctor cannot act as the executioner for a death sentence, however legal, empowering or compassionate it may appear.”
