Spain’s government hit back at the US government on Wednesday after the Trump administration demanded answers over the controversial euthanasia of a 25-year-old gang-rape victim.
Noelia Castillo was permitted to die under the Spanish government’s assisted suicide law last week, despite her family and various groups launching a two-year legal campaign to stop the move.
In the wake of her death, US State Department officials instructed the US Embassy in Madrid on Tuesday to open an investigation into the Spanish law enforcement’s handling of repeated sex attacks, including gang rapes, against Castillo.
Following news of the probe, Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia went on the defense, accusing President Trump of “sticking his nose” into the country’s internal affairs.
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“Spain is a serious country, with a solid healthcare system and a rights framework that protects and cares for all people, including those who choose to request help to die with dignity in legally regulated contexts, evaluated by clinical committees and endorsed by the courts,” she wrote on X.
The politician from Spain’s leftist Mas Madrid party, also attempted to deflect from the issue by bringing up American healthcare deaths, and accusing President Trump of carrying out “human rights violations in Gaza and Iran.”
Here’s the latest on Noelia Castillo, the paraplegic gang-rape victim who died of euthanasia
The governor of Catalonia, the northeastern region of Spain where Castillo ended her life, also responded aggressively to news of the probe.
“We will defend with full force the professionals of our healthcare system against any malicious attacks that seek to undermine their work,” he wrote on X.
“We defend the right to a dignified death, after adopting one of the most advanced and exemplary legal frameworks in the world,” he added.
Castillo was permitted to end her life five years after she survived a suicide attempt when she jumped off a building following a sexual assault by three men.
Spain legalized euthanasia and medically assisted suicide in 2021, becoming one of a handful of countries — including Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands — to permit assisted dying.
Castillo’s father, Geronimo, tried to block his daughter from going through with euthanasia, taking his 18-month legal battle to Spain’s highest court and the European Court of Human Rights.
He argued that Noelia — who was left wheelchair-bound by her suicide attempt — lacked the capacity to make such a decision due to her poor mental health.
But Spain’s Supreme Court upheld what it called Castillo’s “right to die,” rejecting her father’s request for intervention.
Geronimo’s attorney also pointed to a potential conflict of interest, as the doctor who carried out the lethal injection on Noelia was also allegedly the coordinator for her organ donations.
Noelia asked her family to leave the room when the doctor ended her life last Thursday.
“I’ve told them how I want it to be. I want to die looking beautiful. I’ve always thought I want to die looking good. I’ll wear my prettiest dress and put on make-up; it will be something simple,” she said in an interview days before her death.
