Claire Brosseau seeks medically assisted suicide

Canadian actress and comedian Claire Brosseau, 48, has announced that she intends to pursue medically assisted death after decades of struggling with severe mental illness.

The Montreal-born star, who appeared in many movies, television series, and stage productions across Canada and the United States, says she has exhausted all available treatments without lasting relief.

Claire has now submitted a legal challenge with the Ontario Superior Court, arguing that current restrictions on Canada's medical assistance in dying (MAiD) program unfairly prevents people suffering from psychiatric conditions alone from accessing assisted dying.

Who is Claire Brosseau?

Claire Brosseau is a Canadian-born actress and comedian who has worked extensively in film, television, theater and comedy.

Raised in Montreal, she is fluent in both French and English and has built a career across North America, appearing in various films, stage productions and media projects.

Now 48, Brosseau has become the center of a legal and ethical debate after publicly stating that she plans to pursue medically assisted death due to long-term mental illness.

When did Claire's mental health struggle begin?

In her SubstackClaire says her mental health challenges began in adolescence.

She was diagnosed with manic depression at age 14 and later received multiple additional diagnoses, including anxiety, PTSD, chronic suicidal ideation, an eating disorder, personality disorder, and substance use disorder.

She has described her early struggles as arising after a “period of intense and risky behavior” in her teenage years.

What treatments has she tried over the years?

According to Brosseau, she spent decades seeking treatment in Canada and the United States.

She has worked with psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors, and has undergone a wide range of interventions.

These have prescribed medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety medications, along with various forms of therapy and guided psychedelic treatments.

Brosseau has indicated that none of these approaches have provided lasting relief.

How did her career develop alongside her illness?

Despite her mental health struggles, Brosseau achieved significant professional success.

After graduating high school at 16, she was accepted into a prestigious drama program in Quebec, where she studied theater performance for two years.

Claire later moved to New York City to continue her training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.

Her career continued with roles in musicals, films, television series, commercials and comedy projects.

She showed up Entertainment Tonight Canada and The Strombo Showworked with actors like James Franco and Daniel Stern, secured a deal with a comedy club chain, and took on writing assignments in Los Angeles.

Has her mental health ever improved?

Brosseau has said her condition fluctuated over time.

In her early 20s, after another severe depressive episode marked by substance use and difficulty eating, she returned to Montreal and was hospitalized for several months.

After her release, she experienced a period of recovery and returned to stage and screen.

However, she has said that her mental health issues continued to affect both her personal life and career trajectory, including her inability to secure what she described as her “dream role” in a European film.

What happened in 2021?

In 2021, Brosseau says her career took off again, coinciding with a significant deterioration in her mental health.

During this period she attempted suicide and later decided to seek access to Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program.

She then believed that MAiD would soon be extended to people whose suffering is based solely on mental illness.

What is Canada's MAiD policy on mental illness?

Canada's Virgin program allows assisted death for individuals with what the law defines as “serious and irreparable medical conditions.”

However, the qualification does not extend to cases where mental illness is the only underlying condition.

This exclusion has been the subject of ongoing legal and political debate.

Why is Claire taking legal action?

Claire filed a complaint in the Ontario Superior Court, arguing that the exclusion of mental illness from MAiD eligibility violates her rights.

She pursues the case alongside former war correspondent John Scully, who lives with PTSD.

In interviews she has described the contrast between her professional life and her private suffering. She told The New York Times: “I had a great place to stay and I did well on the film and I had fun on set, and every night I would go back to my hotel and I would scream and cry and tear my clothes apart.”

“And crying and just, I wanted to kill myself and I couldn't wait to get out of there. And then the next day at work, it would be fine and I would have so much fun.”

How did she prepare for the possibility of death?

Believing that MAiD eligible for mental illness would be approved, Brosseau began to make personal preparations.

She hosted a series of farewell dinners with close friends and family, and openly shared her intention to end her life as permitted under the law.

As of now, her legal challenge is ongoing, and her case continues to draw attention to broader questions about mental illness, autonomy and assisted dying in Canada.

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