The Supreme Court approves the euthanasia of Noelia, the girl who has been waiting for more than a year

The Supreme Court has thwarted yet another attempt by the ultraconservative Catholic group Christian Lawyers to stop Noelia's euthanasia. The court did not overturn the request from this group of lawyers, who represent the affected woman's father. the latest resolution of the legal saga that has been dragging on since August 2024 And in which the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) had already concluded that the 24-year-old woman met the requirements to be eligible for assisted dying. However, the Catalan court's ruling in September also recognized the right of a family member to exhaust all legal remedies to prevent the assisted dying of a relative. Taking advantage of this, Christian Lawyers and the young woman's father have unsuccessfully attempted to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. This Thursday, they warned that they will also appeal to the Constitutional Court in a renewed attempt to prevent the young woman from receiving assisted dying, and they reiterated that the precautionary measures currently on hold regarding the euthanasia procedure remain in place. Specifically, the Supreme Court has ruled against overturning the TSJC (High Court of Justice of Catalonia) decision that gave judicial approval to the authorization granted by the Catalan Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, the body responsible for assessing requests for euthanasia, which unanimously endorsed Noelia. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on technical grounds and without considering the arguments presented by the affected woman's father. Two lower courts had already upheld the decision.

The Supreme Court notes that there are already two judicial instances that have confirmed that the young woman meets all the legal requirements to access assisted death. It was first done by a court in Barcelona, however, He clarified that the assisted dying procedure could not be resumed until the sentence was final. and therefore, until those involved had exhausted all possible resources. In fact, an appeal by the father against this decision led to The second court ruling, this time from the TSJC, confirmed that Noelia meets all the legal requirements for euthanasia.

Noelia's father's appeal also sought to have the Supreme Court overturn euthanasia by questioning the commission that authorized it. In fact, for that very reason, he has forced a criminal case against the doctor and the forensic expert who were supposed to assess the requestThey admitted to feigning disagreement to force the intervention of the entire commission to make the decision with greater guarantees. The investigation for malfeasance and falsification is ongoing in a Barcelona court, but the Supreme Court has ruled out that this could be grounds for overturning the euthanasia authorization, because the actions of the doctor and the forensic expert did not change the commission's decision in any way. Noelia's case was the first to place a euthanasia process in the hands of the courts, but Advocats Cristians is using a similar strategy with another affected individual. Francisco, 54, requested euthanasia after suffering several strokes. When he already had the medical approval of the Catalan Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, the procedure was suspended due to the legal intervention of his father, who was advised by the ultraconservative Catholic group itself. His case prompted the first ruling by the TSJC on the underlying legal debate Both proceedings raise the question of whether the relatives of an adult patient of sound mind can intervene legally to halt a euthanasia procedure that has already received medical approval. The TSJC's position is that they can.