Moment best-friend is turned away from Spanish euthanasia clinic in doomed last-minute bid to change her former classmate’s mind and stop her dying

This is the heartbreaking moment a woman was denied final visit to her best friend who was euthanised in Spain yesterday.

Noelia Castillo, 25, of Barcelona, ​​died Thursday at the Sant Pere de Ribes assisted living facility after courts rejected her father’s efforts to stop the procedure.

In a video published by Spanish outlet OK Diario, her tearful friend Carla Gutierrez is seen begging two police officers to let her see Castillo one last time.

‘I need to see him,’ he was heard pleading, ‘We lost contact when they took him to another school, I didn’t know anything about him, please.’

But officers denied the request, stating that it was outside their jurisdiction and telling his friend that he should respect Castillo’s choice.

In an interview with OK Diario, Gutierrez explained that he and Castillo went to high school together, but lost touch when Castillo moved to a different center.

‘I wanted to see him [Castillo] “To see if he would change his mind, or at least to say goodbye,” she told a reporter, “I even brought my daughter, who was in a wheelchair.”

Gutierrez added that he wrote a letter to Castillo that he hoped his friend would read before euthanasia took place.

Gutierrez added that he wrote a letter to Castillo that he hoped his friend would read before euthanasia took place.

Castillo passed away about 20 minutes after receiving the first of his euthanasia injections

‘I want to see if I can get in even if it’s just me, I want to see if I can convince him.’ [to change her mind]” he said.

Castillo is said to have asked his family to spend more time with him before he was euthanized in the procedure, which started at 18.30 local time.

His loved ones would leave him alone with a doctor who administered the three injections around 5:30 p.m. but would remain there for at least another half hour.

He was alone in the room when he died, at his own request, except for the doctor who administered his injections.

Castillo died about 20 minutes after the first injection.

The case was also followed closely in Spain. Castillo’s young age, his family’s public fight to stop him, and the circumstances that led him to resort to euthanasia galvanized public opinion, with courts ultimately ruling in favor of his right to end his life.

The 25-year-old man was left paralyzed from the waist down after jumping off the roof in an attempt to commit suicide after being gang-raped by three strangers in a nightclub in 2022.

Before her suicide attempt in 2022, the young woman reportedly tried to take her own life through drug overdose and self-harm.

Castillo also suffered from borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder with paranoia and suicidal ideation, leading to severe mood swings and instability.

His euthanasia request was approved in July 2024 by an independent panel of doctors, lawyers and bioethicists in Catalonia, based on assessments that his condition was serious and incurable and that he was suffering from severe, chronic and debilitating pain.

Her father tried to block her euthanasia through court, arguing that he was against her right to die, but she accused him of not respecting her wishes.

“He did not respect my decisions and will never respect them,” Castillo said in a recent interview with Spanish TV broadcaster Antena 3.

Spain is one of the few countries to legalize euthanasia, following a 2021 law that includes strict requirements.

The law stipulates that anyone of sound mind who is suffering from a ‘serious and incurable disease’ or a ‘chronic and disabling’ condition can request assistance in dying.

Castillo (photo before suicide attempt in 2022) suffered from borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder with paranoia and suicidal ideation

The father said his daughter suffered from mental disorders that “may affect her ability to make free and informed decisions” as required by law.

He also said there were signs that he had changed his mind and that his disorder did not cause “unbearable physical or psychological pain.”

Despite the intense legal battle, Castillo contacted Antena 3 to leave a final message after learning of the euthanasia date.

‘Now I want to go and stop suffering, period. None of my family supports euthanasia. ‘What about the pain I’ve endured all these years?’ he said.

Referring to family members, he said, “The happiness of a father, a mother, a sister cannot be more important than the life of a daughter.”

‘I finally made it. “Let’s see if I can finally rest because I can’t stand this family anymore, the pain, everything that tortures me because of what I’ve been through,” he said. ‘I don’t want to be an example to anyone, this is just my life, that’s all.’

Christian Lawyers, the ultra-conservative Catholic organization that represents Noelia’s father Geronimo Castillo, said last night: ‘At Christian Lawyers, we are deeply saddened by her death and condemn that this case highlights serious flaws in euthanasia law that does not protect the most vulnerable people.

‘We call on politicians to use his story to bring about urgent changes and prevent something like this from happening again.’