Spain's top court dismisses father's attempt to prevent daughter's euthanasia

Spain’s Constitutional Court has denied a father’s appeal to prevent doctors from euthanising his 25‑year‑old daughter.

Key Takeaways:

• The young woman has sought death by euthanasia since she became paralyzed following a suicide attempt in which she jumped from a fifth-floor window.

• She lives with a psychiatric condition and has tried to end her own life on more than one occasion.

• Since she was approved for euthanasia, her father has fought to stop it, arguing that her psychiatric condition makes her unable to make the choice to die.

• He has appealed each ruling against him and will now take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

• Spain allows euthanasia for individuals with chronic conditions that are not considered terminal.

The Backstory:

The young woman lives with a psychiatric illness and has tried to commit suicide in the past, including attempting to overdose on medication and jumping from a fifth-floor window in 2022. The jump left her paralyzed, and she later requested euthanasia.

Spain became one of the few countries to legalize euthanasia under a 2021 law, but unlike most pro-death nations, it does not require that a person be considered "terminally ill" to request euthanasia. Spain's law permits individuals living with a “serious and incurable illness” or a “chronic and debilitating” condition to seek physician-assisted death, Courthouse News Service reported.

In July 2024, a specialised expert committee in the woman's region of Catalonia approved her request, and her death was scheduled for August 2, 2024. However, her father has worked to prevent it ever since. Courts have ruled in the young woman's favor, but her father has not backed down.

He said that his daughter experiences mental disorders that “could affect her ability to make a free and conscious decision” as mandated by the euthanasia law. He also said that there were signs that his daughter had changed her mind and that her sickness did not involve “unbearable physical or psychological suffering."

The Details:

The Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the father’s appeal and said there was no breach of fundamental rights in permitting the daughter to undergo euthanasia, notwithstanding her father’s opposition. Throughout the hearing, various medical and legal specialists presented their opinions, ultimately leading to the conclusion that the young woman at the center of the case was fully conscious of her choice and met all legal criteria for euthanasia approval. The court also underscored that the law applied only when an individual was experiencing a severe, untreatable illness that resulted in enduring pain.

“The appellant had not managed to refute the presence of all the elements necessary to approve the applicant's euthanasia,” the court decreed in a statement while refuting alleged procedural irregularities, as per Courthouse News Service. 

Now that the Constitutional Court has denied the father's appeal, his attorneys said they will bring 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," the group's head, Polonia Castellanos, said in a statement.

The Bottom Line:

This particular case is the first to be considered for judicial review since the implementation of the 2021 euthanasia legislation in Spain. Official statistics reveal a sharp increase in euthanasia and assisted suicide, with hundreds of cases documented and year‑on‑year rises surpassing 25% in some periods.