Released at the end of last year, the statistics have revealed that 426 people ended their own lives by assisted suicide or euthanasia in Spain in 2024, a 27.54% increase from 2023, when 334 people ended their lives in this way. The total number of individuals who have ended their lives by assisted suicide or euthanasia has increased by 47.92% since 2022, the first full year after its legalisation.
Unlike in some other jurisdictions, there is no six or twelve-month prognosis limit for eligibility for assisted suicide or euthanasia in Spain.
Of the 188 people whose request for euthanasia was denied in 2023, 78 lodged an appeal with the relevant regulatory body. Of the 78 appeals, over 40% (32 cases) had their decision reversed, and the individuals were allowed to proceed with ending their lives. In 2024, of the 157 applications whose requests for assisted suicide or euthanasia were denied, 75 lodged an appeal. Of these, 20 (26.67%) were subsequently permitted to proceed with ending their lives by assisted suicide or euthanasia.
The most common underlying illness of the individuals who applied for assisted suicide or euthanasia in 2024 was a neurological condition, accounting for 302 applicants. 276 applicants had a form of cancer, while other conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory issues, made up the remainder.
According to the Diario Médico journal, the Spanish government’s Ministry of Health had considered modifying the “Manual of Good Practices for Euthanasia” to include mental illnesses in 2024. The draft of the planned change stated that the Organic Law for the Regulation of Euthanasia “does not exclude mental illness, allowing people with an unbearable suffering due to the presence of a mental illness to request [state-assisted suicide or euthanasia] on equal terms with those whose suffering comes from a bodily illness”.









