Canadian actress and comedian Claire Brosseau (48) has publicly expressed her desire to end her life through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) after more than three decades of severe mental health struggles that she reports have not been relieved through extensive treatment. Brosseau’s situation draws attention to ongoing discussions about MAID eligibility for individuals whose primary suffering stems from mental illness rather than a terminal physical disease.
Brosseau was first diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) at age 14 and over the ensuing decades has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses, including eating disorders, anxiety, personality disorders, substance abuse disorders and chronic suicidal ideation. According to her own accounts, she has undergone more than 25 medications, varied therapies, and even guided psychedelic experiences without achieving meaningful, lasting relief.
In an open letter posted online in Substack, Brosseau detailed a lifetime of suffering and multiple suicide attempts, stating that her condition has been “too much” to endure and that she wants to pursue MAID as a result. She has described uncertainty about surviving until Canada’s planned expansion of MAID eligibility for mental illness by 2027, given the severity of her distress.
In Canada, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) is a lawful medical procedure that allows eligible individuals to voluntarily end their lives with prescribed lethal medication, either administered by a clinician or self-administered, if certain criteria are met. Currently, MAID eligibility focuses on individuals whose suffering is due to a grievous and irremediable condition. Historically, eligibility required that natural death be reasonably foreseeable, effectively limiting access to those with terminal physical conditions such as advanced cancer or irreversible organ failure.
Legislation has been evolving: provisions to allow MAID for those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness were proposed, with a March 2027 implementation deadline after delays in policy guidance. Until the relevant guidelines take effect, people like Brosseau whose suffering arises primarily from psychiatric conditions remain ineligible under current law even if they meet other MAID criteria.
In Brosseau’s case, she applied for MAID in 2021, but because she is physically healthy and does not have a terminal illness, her eligibility under the existing framework remains constrained.
The possibility of granting MAID for psychiatric conditions raises ethical and clinical considerations. Jurisdictions that permit MAID for mental illness emphasize careful assessment of capacity, alternative treatment options and the irremediability of suffering. Research indicates that such cases require thorough psychiatric evaluation and safeguards to ensure patients are competent, informed and have seriously considered all potential alternatives.
A qualitative review of MAID in the context of mental disorders notes that while mental illness can cause profound suffering, opinions diverge on how, or whether, that suffering should factor into assisted-death eligibility and what protective evaluations are essential.
Brosseau has indicated that if approved for MAID, she hopes to have family members, her psychiatrists and her dog Olive present as she says her final goodbyes. She has also requested that loved ones wait in a separate room during the procedure to reduce the emotional burden on them.
Internationally, a few countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland permit assisted dying for psychiatric suffering under specific legal and clinical protocols, but practices and safeguards vary widely. These frameworks typically involve rigorous assessment, a demonstration of irremediable suffering despite exhaustive treatment, and multiple independent evaluations.
Studies from countries with established MAID-for-psychiatric-suffering provisions reveal that applications may be rejected, discontinued or retracted, and that most patients who proceed have extensive histories of treatment and prominent suicidal ideation.
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