The Supreme Court allows people with a "close connection" to request to stop euthanasia

BarcelonaThe Supreme Court considers that people with a "particularly close connection" have the right to judicially intervene against the decision of a patient who wishes to receive euthanasia. It is the majority, but not unanimous, response of the magistrates of the High Court after addressing this Tuesday the debate on whether relatives have the right to judicially intervene to prevent a relative from receiving euthanasia.

Its ruling responds to the fundamental debate generated by the different judicial proceedings in which a relative has tried to stop the euthanasia of an adult who already had medical approval. This was the case of Noelia Castillo, who finally received assisted death on March 26 after 20 months of litigation. It is also the case of Francesc, who is specifically what the Supreme Court has debated: at 54 years old, after three strokes and two heart attacks that have left him with serious sequelae affecting his mobility and speech, he requested assisted death. His euthanasia has medical and judicial approval since July 2024, but an appeal by his father has left the procedure stalled in the courts.

This Tuesday, the full bench of the contentious chamber of the Supreme Court agreed to recognize people with a close connection with the standing to judicially appeal against a patient's euthanasia. The decision was not unanimous: 23 magistrates voted in favor and 9 against. For the moment, the Court has only made the result of the vote public, and in the coming days it will publish the sentence with the arguments for its decision.