Renowned actress and comedian Claire Brosseau has made the heart-wrenching decision to pursue assisted suicide, citing her ongoing battle with severe mental health issues as the reason. Despite having a supportive network of family and friends, Brosseau feels unable to surmount the challenges posed by her conditions.
Brosseau, now 48, received a diagnosis of manic depression at the tender age of 14, following a turbulent period marked by substance abuse and reckless behavior. Over the years, her mental health struggles have expanded to include anxiety, chronic suicidal thoughts, an eating disorder, a personality disorder, substance abuse issues, and PTSD, among other conditions.
Throughout her life, Brosseau has made numerous suicide attempts and has sought help from mental health professionals across North America. In a candid open letter on her Substack earlier this year, she detailed her exhaustive search for relief.
Despite exploring various treatments, including medications, therapies, and guided psychedelic sessions, Brosseau has found little success in alleviating her mental distress, as reported by the New York Times. Her decision to consider euthanasia is a deeply personal one, underscored by years of unrelenting struggle.
In 2021, with no partner or children, Brosseau made the difficult choice to apply for euthanasia through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program, seeking a compassionate end to her battle with mental illness.
Brosseau, who has neither a partner nor children, decided in 2021 that she would apply for euthanasia under Canada’s Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) program.
MAiD is a process that allows adults suffering from a ‘grievous and irremediable medical condition’ to end their life with the assistance of a doctor. Patients whose chronic illnesses are solely mental health related, however, are not yet eligible for MAiD.
The mental health exclusion was set to end in March 2023 but has been delayed twice, meaning that Brosseau may not have access to MAiD until 2027. She has since filed a complaint with the Ontario Superior Court alleging genuine rights violations.
Canadian actress Claire Brosseau, 48, wants to die by assisted suicide after undergoing decades of unsuccessful treatments
Brosseau (pictured in July this year) was diagnosed with manic depression at the age of 14. She was later diagnosed with anxiety, chronic suicidal ideation, an eating disorder, personality disorder, substance abuse disorder, PTSD, and a slew of other mental health conditions
Brosseau was an honors student at her Montreal high school, starred in plays and was relatively popular.
She graduated at 16 and was recruited to attend an elite drama college in Quebec, where she studied theatre performance for two years.
After graduation, she moved to New York City and continued her studies at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater.
She gained steady work in musicals and films and gained good money in a line of work that leaves many struggling to make ends meet.
But just as she started to make a name for herself, she suffered another depressive episode that saw her struggle to eat and drown her emotions with booze and drugs.
Brosseau moved back to Montreal in her early 20s and was hospitalized for several months. And as her mental health began to improve and her career once again started to thrive.
She appeared on Entertainment Tonight Canada and The Strombo Show, a radio show hosted by Canadian broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos, Macleans reported.
She landed supporting roles in film and TV projects with James Franco and Daniel Stern, secured a deal with a comedy club chain, acted in commercials in Los Angeles and even got some writing gigs.
Brosseau attended an elite drama college in Quebec, before studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City. She is pictured as the character Jenny Reynolds in the 2006 rom-com A Previous Engagement
But just as she started to make a name for herself, Brosseau (pictured alongside Elizabeth Whitmere in A Previous Engagement) suffered another depressive episode that saw her struggle to eat and drown her emotions with booze and drugs
Although she was earning a lot of money and she even landed her ‘dream part’ in a European film, Brosseau said her mental health conditions still impeded her success.
‘I had a great place to stay and I was doing well on the film and I was having fun on set, and every night I would go back to my hotel and I would bawl and scream and rip my clothes apart.,’ she told the NY Times.
‘And cry and just — I wanted to kill myself and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. And then the next day at work, I’d be fine and I’d have so much fun.’
Brosseau vowed to get her life together after she stumbled and smashed her face into a curb at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. She had been drunk and high on cocaine, according to Macleans.
She got sober, underwent treatment at an intensive psychiatric care unit and began a series of therapies. She also started taking prescribed anti-depressant, anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety medications.
The actress remained in what she described as ‘remission’ for several years, but in 2021, as her career hit a low point, she attempted suicide again.
Brosseau says her mental health was so poor that she once ate peanuts, despite being allergic to them, in the hopes of triggering a fatal reaction.
She decided to pursue MAiD shortly after that, under the belief that it would be eligible to mental health patients in 2023.
She hosted a series of ‘farewell dinners’ with her friends, family and closest colleagues in which she revealed her intentions to end her life.
Canadian health authorities delayed the removal of MAiD’s mental health exclusion in 2023 and then again last year. The law is not expected to change until 2027.
Brosseau is now suing the government for the right to die. She has asked for ‘the same rights as others with incurable illnesses to choose when and how I die’ and alleged the current MAiD law is discriminatory
The lawsuit has fueled an already heated national debate surrounding assisted suicide. Brosseau’s own psychiatrists are even at odds over her case
Brosseau, alongside former war correspondent John Scully who suffers from PTSD, is now suing the government for the right to die.
She has asked for ‘the same rights as others with incurable illnesses to choose when and how I die’ and alleged the current MAiD law is discriminatory.
The lawsuit has fueled an already heated national debate surrounding assisted suicide. Brosseau’s own psychiatrists are even at odds over her case.
Dr. Gail Robinson, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, told the NY Times that she believes MAiD is a reasonable choice for the actress.
Robison said she would ‘love’ for Brosseau to change her mind, but ‘will support her’ if she does get the green light for MAiD.
However, her other psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Fefergrad, said ‘I believe she can get well’ and added that ‘I don’t think MAID is the best or only choice for her.’
Fefergrad believes that given the nature of her illness, Brosseau’s request for MAiD has to be considered differently than requests from patients with physical ailments.
For help and support, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988
