An Ontario woman and actress, Claire Elyse Brosseau, has announced she is seeking "emergency relief" that would grant her access to MAiD for her mental illnesses.Brosseau, 49, who has starred alongside James Franco, is an applicant for a constitutional challenge against the feds to grant her access to "emergency relief" so she can gain access to euthanasia for her mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, and an eating disorder.Her challenge was launched in 2024, with Brosseau stating her case has been ready since July 2025.Brosseau claims she's been waiting for the government's response materials since late April, but so far there's been no update. .Brosseau launched her plea for "emergency relief" on Dying with Dignity Canada's (DWDC) website, a pro-MAiD advocacy organization.Reported by the DailyMail, DWDC launched a charter challenge against the feds in 2024, which argued the exclusion of mental illness from MAiD is a breach of charter rights. Brosseau says she believes she can consent to MAiD, stating, "This is a medical procedure like any other medical procedure," she said on the podcast, Can't be Censored."People say we're dying from MAiD — that's not it."."It's a compassionate answer to a death that's inevitable."Brosseau says she believes MAiD "discriminates" against people like her, with mental illness, and adds she is in a state of "unrelenting suffering."Brosseau also claims she was assessed and found eligible for MAiD, but was unable to act on the assessment due to the rule of law.She says the five years the feds have taken to make mental illness a sole condition for euthanasia is too long to wait — and is "too much to ask.".In late April, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the largest mental health teaching hospital in Canada, submitted a statement to the feds' Special Joint Committee on MAiD, stating there is no consensus among psychiatrists that mental illness should be considered an irremediable illness.Dr Allison Crawford, chief medical officer for Canada's suicide crisis helpline, warned against the expansion."Given the significant overlap between suicidal thoughts and behaviors and MAiD, we will best serve those who are suffering with enhanced suicide prevention efforts," stated Crawford. Still, Brosseau claims she has been pushed to her limit, adding, "Every month of delay is another month of suffering that I am told I must simply endure."."I have been asked, again and again, to be patient. I was patient for years." "The government’s unwillingness to respond to my claim and live up to its promises has pushed me to my absolute limit."In an open letter published in 2025 on Brosseau's Substack, the actress has attempted suicide multiple times, and has been treated by psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors across North America. Reported by the New York Times, she has used dozens of medications, therapies, and guided psychedelics in attempts to improve her mental health without success..After graduating from an elite drama college in Quebec, Brosseau had moved to New York City, where she steadily gained parts in musicals and films and began making good money.Not longer after, she had another depressive episode, and Brousseau struggled to eat and drowned her emotions with drugs and booze.She moved back to Montreal in her 20s, where she was hospitalized for several months.She then landed TV roles, a deal with a comedy club chain, acted in commercials in LA, and got some writing roles. .Despite landing her "dream part" in a European film, Brosseau claimed her depression still got in the way of enjoying 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," Brosseau told the New York 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."At the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, she stumbled and smashed her face into the curb — while drunk and high on cocaine..From then on, Brosseau vowed to get her life back on track — getting sober, undergoing treatment at an intensive psychiatric facility, taking prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety medications. She then went into remission for several years, but after her career hit a low in 2021 — she attempted suicide again. Brosseau says even once she ate peanuts despite her allergy, in hopes it would trigger a fatal allergic reaction. Shortly after she decided to pursue MAiD, with belief it would she would be eligible for mental health patients as of 2023..Brosseau hosted multiple "farewell dinners" with her friends, family, and closest colleagues, where she revealed her intention to die."I stopped playing the 'I'll always be sick I'll never get better' game in my thirties — because we all play that game," Brosseau told Can't be Censored."I know I could get better I've been better before.""But I am done."MAiD for the sole underlying condition of mental illness is set to be legalized in Canada in 2027.
