Woman who featured in commercial about euthanasia in Canada wanted to live but ... trends now
A chronically-ill woman who featured in a controversial commercial about euthanasia in Canada had complained months earlier that she wanted to live but couldn't access healthcare.
Jennyfer Hatch, 37, was the subject of a campaign by Canadian fashion giant La Maison Simons which documented her experience with end-of-life care before her death in October.
The jarring 'All is Beauty' commercial - which included audio of Jennyfer talking about her 'sacred' last breaths - was fiercely criticized over claims it glorified suicide.
It has now emerged that Jennyfer gave an interview in June in which she complained about 'falling through the cracks' in attempts to get treatment for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).
She gives the harrowing conclusion that it was 'far easier to let go than keep fighting'.
Jennyfer Hatch, 37, was the subject of a controversial commercial about assisted dying in Canada. It has now emerged that months earlier, she complained about difficulty accessing care for her illness
Critics said the slick commercial 'glorified' suicide and presented Jennyfer's decision to choose MAID as 'an upscale lifestyle choice'. It's now emerged she gave an interview several months ago about wanting to live but struggling to access care for her illness
A still from the La Maison Simons commercial, which was pulled from YouTube after a backlash
In other developments in Canada's euthanasia debate:
The context about her struggle to access care is not mentioned in the commercial, which was released amid intense debate around Canada's assisted dying laws.
They are among the most relaxed in the world and more than 10,000 people were euthanized in Canada last year - a tenfold increase since it was legalized in 2016.
The three-minute commercial shows Jennyfer and loved ones waving bubble wands next to the ocean, having picnics in the forest with friends and watching a puppet show.
In an audio overlay recorded weeks before her death, she says: 'I spent my life filling my heart with beauty, with nature, with connection. I choose to fill my final moments with the same... Last breaths are sacred. When I imagine my final days, I see music. I see the ocean. I see cheesecake.'
The video clocked up more than one million views before it was removed from YouTube last week following the backlash.
Jennyfer was diagnosed with EDS ten years ago. The genetic condition stops the body producing enough collagen, the substance which holds together tissue, skin and organs, and results in excruciating pain.
In her June interview, she used the pseudonym 'Kat', but CTV have since confirmed her real identity.
Jennyfer told CTV in the June interview: 'I thought, 'Goodness, I feel like I'm falling through the cracks so if I'm not able to access health care am I then able to access death care?' And that's what led me to look into medical assistance in dying (MAID) and I applied last year.'
She added: 'Our health-care system is set up so it's really bouncing the patient around treating symptom after symptom and not really addressing the underlying collagen issue.
'From a disability and financial perspective as well, I can't afford the resources that would help improve my quality of life. Because of being locked in financially as well and geographically, it is far easier to let go than keep fighting.'
The advert was accused of glorifying suicide and also failed to mention the context of Jennyfer's struggle to access care for her illness before she opted for assisted death
