Ontario court denies Toronto woman emergency access to MAID for mental illness
Justice Carissima Mathen ruled against Claire Brosseau's motion while noting Parliament's role in policy on the contentious issue.
What to know
- Ontario Superior Court denied Claire Brosseau emergency access to MAID for bipolar 1, though Justice Mathen acknowledged her compelling evidence of suffering.
- MAID remains illegal in Canada when mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition; Brosseau's federal lawsuit challenging that ban continues.
- The court ordered an urgent case conference within 14 days on Brosseau's broader challenge to the federal ban.
- The ruling underscores a contested policy debate over whether patients with mental illness should have access to medical assistance in dying.
The dispute Whether restricting MAID for mental illness protects vulnerable people or unjustly denies autonomy and creates dangerous barriers to safe death. · positions read across 5 posts and comments
Restricting MAID for mental illness is a dangerous slippery slope toward coerced euthanasia of vulnerable groups.
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“I distinctly remember being told that I was slippery sloping when I said that it was going to end up with depressed people using the state to kill themselves. Now here we are.”
Salticracker · Reddit
People with mental illness seeking MAID should not require medical professionals' involvement due to the harm and burden it places on doctors.
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“what you aren't free to do is to get medical professionals involved and potentially cause them harm because they were not ok with killing you. Yes it's your life and I understand that you are suffering, but…”
_Solani_ · Reddit
People with mental illness face unique barriers to ending their lives safely and deserve medical assistance as an option.
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“I tried, failed, I am scared of having a slow painful death or ending up even worse off... As you said, here in Canada, our gun laws play a big part in it.”
Alwaysdistractedaf · Reddit
“I feel like this is that thing. They'll either say that state-funded eugenics disguised as progressive activism is insane, or they'll say that not serving up lethal injections at the pharmacy is a miscarriage of justice.”
Salticracker, Reddit commenter · Reddit
Claire Brosseau Toronto woman with bipolar 1 disorderJustice Carissima Mathen Ontario Superior Court JusticeDying With Dignity Canada Advocacy organizationAttorney-General of Canada Federal government representative
The record 2 articles and posts · last 22 days
What people are saying 5 voices from 1 site · verbatim
- Sep 7
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Yes, because you cannot predict this "unforeseeable amount of time" with the current state of medicine. There's no patient or doctor in the world who can tell you definitively that there's nothing that can be done and that they have a "fatal" type of mental health issue. So yes, I would be against public health from insitituting this kind of…
- Sep 3
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People often wonder what future people will look back on and think we were crazy or cruel for doing that we right now think is normal. I feel like this is that thing. They'll either say that state-funded eugenics disguised as progressive activism is insane, or they'll say that not serving up lethal injections at the pharmacy is a miscarriage of…
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It’s the choice of the doctors and court I thought it was our bodies, our life, our choice. But we aren’t allowed the freedom to choose I don't really understand your comment. You actually are free to choose to end your life, there's nothing stopping you if you really want to, and from your comment it sounds like you're pretty determined so why do…
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Thank you for saying what I've been thinking for so long. I've felt the exact same way. I hate people saying "why not do it yourself?" I tried, failed, I am scared of having a slow painful death or ending up even worse off... As you said, here in Canada, our gun laws play a big part in it.
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That's always been the goal. We were told that it was only for people with terminal illness. I distinctly remember being told that I was slippery sloping when I said that it was going to end up with depressed people using the state to kill themselves. Now here we are, with the court about to tell us that Canadians have the constitutional right to…