Toronto Woman Seeks MAID for Bipolar, PTSD in Court

TORONTO — A 49-year-old Toronto woman filed an emergency motion Monday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeking access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) based solely on her severe bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Claire Elyse Brosseau described her conditions as having worsened over the past three decades, leaving her in unrelenting suffering that she said has made her desperate to die. The motion requests a constitutional exemption from current MAID restrictions, which limit eligibility to individuals with a serious and incurable physical medical condition. Brosseau's lawyer, Michael Fenrick, said he hopes a judge will schedule a hearing before summer.

This action builds on a charter challenge Brosseau and the advocacy group Dying with Dignity Canada filed in August 2024. That lawsuit argues that excluding people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Fenrick emphasized the urgency of Brosseau's case, noting her long history of enduring mental health struggles without relief.

Canada legalized MAID in 2016 for those with grievous and irremediable conditions, initially requiring a...