First trial to stop a dignified death: Noelia wants euthanasia, her family does not

BarcelonaThe right to a dignified death is in the hands of the courts for the first time. This Tuesday, in Barcelona, ​​​​an unprecedented trial was held in the entire State. The euthanasia of Noelia, a 24-year-old paraplegic girl, has the endorsement of the committee of experts that is in charge of evaluating the requests for this benefit, but it has been suspended since August 1 by court order. Her father, advised by the Christian Lawyers group, took euthanasia to court three days before it was administered to her and the process is paralyzed pending the final judicial decision. Before the judge, the young woman reiterated her desire to have a dignified death and denounced coercion from her environment to make her back out. According to legal sources consulted by the ARA, the young woman explained that some of her companions at the juvenile center where she had been under guardianship from the age of 13 placed stamps, crosses and religious symbols in her room.

However, Noelia has reaffirmed her willingness to receive euthanasia, she has said that she has been asking for it for a long time and that she has never doubted, despite having encountered opposition from her family.

The young woman is admitted to a residential hospital in Sant Pere de Ribes as a result of a spinal cord injury caused by a suicide attempt in 2022. She has also had to testify in court, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office and despite the opposition of the Generalitat, which defends the commission of experts. The hearing was held behind closed doors, a decision that was made with the intention of protecting the young woman's privacy.

A dozen witnesses have also appeared in the 12th contentious court of Barcelona, ​​​​mainly doctors from different specialties who have treated the girl in recent years. Everyone has supported euthanasia because it has been proven that the patient has the mental capacity to make a free decision and meets the requirements set by law: constant physical and psychological suffering, expressed as intolerable and with no forecast of improvement.

Can the family intervene?

The fundamental debate that must be resolved with this case answers a question that was not foreseen with the euthanasia law of 2021: is the family of an adult person who has requested euthanasia entitled to prevent it in court?

After the hearing, the parties involved have five days to send their conclusions to the court, where they will position themselves on how they would like the sentence to resolve the case. In addition to Christian Lawyers and the Generalitat, the Prosecutor's Office will also send its brief, which until now had not spoken out, although in August it was in favor of provisionally suspending euthanasia and waiting for the trial to avoid irreparable damage.

In November, In an identical case that was resolved through an order, another court considered that a man was not entitled to intervene in response to his son's request for euthanasia. Both that resolution and the one arising from Tuesday's hearing – which will be published in the next few days – may reach the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) if any of those involved appeal. In fact, the Christian Lawyers group has already warned of its intention to take the case to the TSJC and, if necessary, to the Supreme Court, and to European justice if the sentence does not meet its claims.

Eight months of waiting

In the case of Noelia, the girl expressed her will to accept assisted death before a notary, and the forensic experts have confirmed that she is capable of deciding about her life. Her request received the green light from the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Catalonia, the body made up of doctors, lawyers, nurses, social workers and psychologists that is responsible for validating or rejecting requests for euthanasia.

The girl's father opened the way to the courts with a claim against this body. The arguments presented by the lawyer of Abogados Cristianos are based on the fact that the daughter's psychiatric history invalidates her will, a perspective that has been contrasted with the arguments of the Generalitat, which defends the decision of the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission. The 19 members of this body unanimously validated the request last July. The young woman has been waiting for almost eight months to receive assisted death.

"Overturning" the law in court

The Association for the Right to Die with Dignity has asked "if the law that certain political forces were unable to stop in Congress is now to be annulled by the courts," and warns that this could be an "abuse of rights, since it could be equivalent to fraudulently obstructing the application of a law." It also stressed the suffering that the judicialisation of these requests can entail for those who have already been approved for the benefit, and that before a request for euthanasia is approved, the approval of different doctors is necessary through the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Catalonia.

One of the members of this commission is the jurist specialising in bioethics Núria Terribas, who is also the director of the Víctor Grífols Foundation and vice-president of the Bioethics Committee of Catalonia. "It is an ideological crusade, the last person they think of is her," she said in statements to ARA about the case of Noelia. He argues that the only person with the legitimacy to challenge a decision on euthanasia is the patient herself; that is why the law does provide that the affected person can appeal to the courts if the commission denies his request. Another aspect of this case that for Terribas deserves "severe criticism" is the waiting time that the judicial procedure is taking. "Where is the right that this law recognizes if anyone can paralyze this for months?" he asks.