The Supreme Court will decide whether a parent can stop their child's euthanasia

BarcelonaThe Supreme Court will resolve the fundamental debate following various legal proceedings in which a family member attempts to stop the euthanasia of an adult who already has medical approval. In all the cases that have reached the courts, a question has arisen that was not foreseen in the 2021 euthanasia law: Is the family of an adult who has requested euthanasia entitled to prevent it through the courts?

This is the case of Noelia, who was scheduled to receive euthanasia in August 2024, but He is still waiting due to an appeal by his father.and also Francesc's, who in July 2024 obtained judicial approvalHowever, its provision remains stuck in the courts after the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) opened the door to the possibility that his father could intervene to stop it. A decision that the Supreme Court must now either validate or overturn, and whose ruling will set the course for the two similar cases that are currently open. In fact, the Supreme Court judges will deliberate based on the case of Francesc, 54, who, after three strokes and two heart attacks, suffers serious aftereffects that affect his mobility and speech. The euthanasia he is requesting has the backing of the Catalan Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, the group of experts that assesses requests for this service, and which confirmed that Francesc has full capacity to decide about his life.

However, his father filed an appeal in a Barcelona administrative court. The man argued that his son suffered from mental health problems that prevented him from making that decision. Based on medical reports, the judge dismissed this argument, in a ruling that also noted that father and son had no relationship whatsoever and that the son had expressly requested that his euthanasia process not be communicated to any relatives or friends.

The Catalan government is intervening in the proceedings to defend the decision of the Catalan Guarantee and Evaluation Commission, and the appeal that the Supreme Court will decide to establish a legal precedent was filed by the administration's lawyers. They argue that the euthanasia law does not allow third parties to appeal the granting or denial of euthanasia, and they want the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling in which the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) determined that a patient's family members are indeed entitled to bring a euthanasia case before the courts.