Euthanasia approved for injuries caused by suicide attempt

A 25-year-old woman in Spain has been approved for euthanasia following injuries caused by a failed suicide attempt.

In February, an appeal by the woman’s father to prevent her seeking help from medics to die was rejected by Spain’s Constitutional Court.

Deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide in Spain have increased by almost 50 per cent since they were legalised in 2022. Activists are now calling for the eligibility criteria to be widened to include people struggling with mental ill health.

Parent’s fight

The father argued that his daughter is unable to make a free and informed decision due to her psychiatric illness; the young woman has attempted suicide on multiple occasions.

In Spain, a person can request euthanasia or assisted suicide if they have a “serious or incurable illness” or a condition which is “chronic or incapacitating” and causes “intolerable suffering”. Unlike other countries that have similar laws, there is no six or twelve-month prognosis requirement.

Polonia Castellanos, one of the lawyers supporting the woman’s father, said: “We will not abandon these parents. We will continue to fight to the end to defend their right to save their daughter’s life.” The lawyers intend to bring the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

‘Horrific’

Writing on social media, political commentator Adam Pollock said: “This is horrific. A suicidal woman in Spain became paraplegic after jumping from a building in a failed suicide attempt. That paraplegia made her eligible for euthanasia, so she can be killed anyway. What happened to suicide prevention?”

Catherine Robinson, spokeswoman for Right To Life UK, said: “This is a tragic case of a woman who unsuccessfully tried to end her own life, and will now, it seems, likely be provided state assistance in doing so”.

“This is incredibly alarming in the context of the assisted suicide Bill in England and Wales, the eligibility criteria for which could be widened if it were to become law. Peers must work together to prevent this by ensuring that the Bill never becomes law”.