Francesc Augé attempts suicide after euthanasia request is stalled by courts

Francesc Augé, a 56-year-old man suffering from severe physical and speech impairments following multiple strokes and heart attacks, was hospitalized after an attempted suicide this past weekend. His request for euthanasia had been stalled by the Spanish judicial system.

While the Catalan government's Guarantee and Evaluation Commission approved his request in August 2024, the process was previously halted due to a legal appeal filed by his father. A May ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court established that relatives with a “particularly close bond” have the legal standing to challenge a third party's request for assisted dying.

Although his father eventually withdrew his opposition this summer to allow the process to proceed, the legal reactivation of the request has not yet occurred. Augé reportedly left a suicide note citing the paralysis of his euthanasia process as the reason for his decision.