Actress Claire Brosseau Please Help Me Die ... Requests Medically-Assisted Suicide

Published May 6, 2026 8:17 AM PDT | Updated May 6, 2026 9:46 AM PDT

Claire Brosseau -- a former actress who's credited on projects starring James Franco and Daniel Stern -- is begging a Canadian court to let her end her own life.

She filed an emergency motion with the court Monday to receive medically-assisted suicide, saying her sole underlying cause is "unbearable" mental illness ... Canada's CTV News reports.

Claire spoke outside the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, saying her severe bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders have caused "unrelenting suffering."

She explained ... "Every morning I wake up I don’t think I’m going to make it through the day."

In Canada, medical assistance in dying -- shortened to MAID -- is allowed ... but there are "very specific circumstances and rules" and you "must meet specific eligibility criteria," according to the government's website.

To be eligible for MAID, you need to have a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition. That means -- according to the Canadian government -- you need to have a serious illness, disease or disability and be in an irreversible and "advanced state of decline."

But the government says you can't be eligible if your only medical condition is a mental illness.

That eligibility exclusion expires in March 2027 ... but Claire says she can't wait until then and is requesting an exemption.

She said ... "I want to be clear about what these delays mean for me personally. Every month of delay is another month is suffering that I am told I must simply endure."

According to CTV News, the government has put off expanding eligibility a few times. Her lawyer Michael Fenrick is hoping Claire will get a court date before the summer.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.