Trump opens an investigation into Noelia's euthanasia
President Salvador Illa says he will defend Catalan healthcare workers with "firmness" and vindicates the "right to a dignified death"
BarcelonaDonald Trump picks up the gauntlet thrown by the Spanish far-right and gets involved in the controversy over the euthanasia of Noelia Castillo, the 25-year-old girl who last Thursday, after a long legal battle, obtained assisted death. According to published by the New York Post, the North American administration has opened an investigation into the case amid suspicions that Spain has incurred "failures" in "human rights matters".
The news from the aforementioned outlet, which comes amidst full tension between Spain and the US due to Pedro Sánchez's opposition to the war in Iran, states that the State Department has tasked the United States Embassy in Madrid with the investigations. The information indicates that US diplomatic personnel have also been asked to convey to Moncloa the Trump administration's "grave concerns" with the "many systemic failures in human rights matters" that led Castillo to request euthanasia.
Washington's arguments for scrutinizing this case - according to a State Department report released by the New York Post- draw from the claims and manipulations put forward by the far-right parties Vox and Abogados Cristianos, which tried until the end to stop Noelia's death in the courts. On the one hand, it points out that the young woman suffered a sexual assault while under state custody, although the multiple rape she suffered - and which led her to attempt suicide - occurred in 2022, when she was already of legal age; on the other hand, it claims that she expressed last-minute "doubts" about her death, which did not happen.
Be that as it may, the Trump administration's document takes a middle ground and concludes: "This case raises serious concerns about the application of Spanish euthanasia law, particularly in cases involving psychiatric conditions and non-terminal suffering".
The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has already reacted to the news. In a message on X, he assured that he will defend “with all firmness” the professionals of the Catalan health system and has claimed “the right to a dignified death” with “one of the most advanced and exemplary legal frameworks in the world”.
