Elena Postigo, Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, looked at the tragic death by euthanasia of 25-year-old Spanish woman Noelia Castillo Ramos on March 26 from the perspective of her scientific field – bioethics. Post On X.
At the beginning of her message, Postigo acknowledged that the young woman’s story had deeply affected her: “I am deeply moved,” she said, before summarizing the tragedy of Castillo’s life.
Noelia Castillo | Credit: Courtesy of Y Ahora Sonsouls
“A young woman – the daughter of divorced parents facing serious difficulties – was taken into the care of social services and placed in a juvenile detention center. There, she was gang raped and received neither the psychological care nor the human support she so desperately needed. After a failed suicide attempt, she was left in a wheelchair, deepening her pain,” Postigo reported.
The expert stressed, “This story exposes the deepest cracks within our system: it exposes a victim of institutional abandonment who was left all alone to face her suffering.”
Her request for euthanasia “is presented as an act of independence, yet in reality, it expresses the despair of someone who was never embraced or treated with the respect she deserved. We are not dealing with a case of euthanasia here, but a case of assisted suicide.”
‘A serious failure that sets a precedent’
The member of the Pontifical Academy of Life emphasized that Castillo “suffered not from an incurable disease, but from profound depression caused by untreated trauma. Nevertheless, the law allows opening the door without distinguishing between irreversible physical suffering and psychological suffering that can be treated and alleviated.”
In his view, this idea is “a serious failure that sets a precedent: a regulation that is being applied today to individuals who can reclaim their lives if they receive appropriate help, therapy, and support.”
The law – rather than offering genuine compassion – legitimizes the sacrifice of life by those who most need support and hope.
elena postigoCorresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life
Postigo said, “The law – rather than offering genuine compassion – legitimizes the sacrifice of life by those who most need support and hope.” “Noelia did not need someone to offer death, but rather someone to restore her sense of purpose, provide support, and offer the possibility of healing.”
Postigo further said that Castillo’s case is “a reflection of a grave collective failure. When life hurts, what is truly humane is to care, accompany and sustain – not to kill.”
Sharing his personal perspective, the bioethics expert said that in such cases, compassion should translate into “presence, support and care, and not permission to die.”
“The fact that the state would even consider assisted suicide for such a young person seems to me a serious error and, above all, a moral defeat.”
this story was first published By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
