Spain's Supreme Court tightens rules for third‑party challenges to euthanasia

Five years after Spain’s euthanasia law took effect, official data show 1,668 people have been assisted to die, with annual cases rising from 75 in late 2021 to 565 in 2025. The Professionals for Ethics Association warned that the law is creating a “slippery slope,” citing expanding grounds for eligibility, reduced safeguards and growing social pressure on vulnerable individuals. It proposed five measures, including nationwide palliative‑care expansion, stronger support for dependent persons, stricter monitoring of approvals, protection for conscientious‑objecting health workers and a halt to euthanasia promotion.

The Spanish Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that makes it significantly harder for relatives to contest euthanasia decisions. Plaintiffs must now provide concrete evidence of “cracks” in the applicant’s will and prove an emotionally close relationship, not merely a familial link. The court rejected a father’s appeal to stop the procedure for his 54‑year‑old son who suffered severe stroke complications, and urged legislators to create faster, specialised judicial procedures for such disputes. The decision also referenced the prolonged legal fight over the case of Noelia Castillo, a young Catalan woman whose euthanasia took almost two years to be challenged.