SPAIN’S Supreme Court has ruled that parents of a person wanting to be euthanised can make a legal challenge to the procedure.
This follows the case of Noelia Castillo, 25, who was granted permission for euthanasia in Barcelona last March after a two year legal battle.
Her father opposed her decision and received backing from the Christian legal group, Abogados Cristianos.
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The Supreme Court ruling saw 23 judges in favour and nine against.
It rejected an appeal made by the Catalunyan government over a local court decision that recognised a father’s standing to challenge euthanasia being granted to his grown-up son.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court specifies that those who appeal the granting of euthanasia must be part of the applicant’s closest living circle.
They must possess, according to the ruling, ‘a sufficient capacity for knowledge and empathy with them to be able, if necessary, to detect possible flaws in the understanding and comprehension of the situation in which the applicant finds themselves’.
The court says they can challenge a decision when they demonstrate a special affective closeness with the person requesting euthanasia and provide a reasonable indication of proof over a possible breach of legal guarantees.
The Supreme Court warns that processing the case within the court system can cause ‘a notable delay in resolving a dispute’.
The slowdown the ruling adds, can become ‘an additional factor of suffering for the person who, with full freedom, capacity for understanding, and persistent will, in a previously accredited euthanistic context’.
For that reason, the court has suggested the creation of a dedicated judicial measure, with simplified procedures and reduced deadlines to resolve conflicts as quickly as possible- given the special nature of the rights and interests at stake.
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