Manon Brunelle was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis early in life. The documentary tells the story of her life starting with a suicide attempt that placed her in a medically induced coma for over two months. Manon chose to attempt suicide because medical assistance in dying was not an option to her; she also believed she was a burden on those around her and felt life was not worth living in pain and with limited mobility. After she woke from her coma, she describes poor care conditions and the lengths she went through to avoid the pain of being moved: not requesting to be changed when she soiled herself in the night and not engaging in any activities that would cause her to be moved. The film ends with her journey to Switzerland where she completes the requirement for medical assistance in dying through the organization Dignitas before drinking the life-ending medications and passing away.<\/p>
The documentary takes place in the Canadian context prior to Criminal Code 241.2 being added to the criminal code in 2016, permitting people like Manon Brunelle to request assistance in dying from the healthcare system. Manon\u2019s story was referenced in multiple parliamentary contexts after the release of this documentary, including in the Canadian Parliament and Senate, and the Quebec National Assembly. The documentary makes a passionate call for medical assistance in dying to be legalized in Canada. The lack of options available to Manon is poignantly felt when she describes why she chose to attempt suicide herself, how arduous the process of recovering from a failed suicide attempt was, and a horrible hospitalization. Her plea in favour of medical assistance in dying includes her analysis that people are \u201cegoists\u201d for considering their own desires and ethics before considering the pain that terminally ill people face. The film also shows how difficult the experience of travelling to another country for assistance in dying is, for example how Manon must be lifted in and out of airplane seats and taxis before her eventual arrival.<\/p>
* Addendum on 31 August 2026<\/em>:<\/p> With a 64-min running time, the TV documentary Manon<\/em> was directed by Andr\u00e9 St-Pierre, with interviews conducted by Beno\u00eet Dutrizac between 2003 and 2004. At the time, both St-Pierre and Dutrizac were connected to the T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> talk show Les Francs-tireurs<\/em> (the French term for \u2018snipers\u2019, but here playing on the translation of \u2018straight shooters\u2019 or those who tell it like it is). The Globe and Mail<\/em> reported that Manon Brunelle herself worked at T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> \u2018\u200b\u200bfor years as a production assistant before her multiple sclerosis became so severe that she was forced to move into a long-term-care hospital\u2019. When St-Pierre and Dutrizac first met Brunelle in 2003, it was at one such facility, known in Qu\u00e9bec as a CHSLD (Centre d\u2019h\u00e9bergement et de soins de longue dur\u00e9e). The documentary shows a close-up of Brunelle\u2019s room number \u2018185\u2019, then the whole door from a low-angle, before bringing us inside to the sound of \u2018Razor Love\u2019 by Neil Young, whom Manon says means a lot to her. In a 2024 interview remembering that first encounter, Dutrizac explains he thought they were doing a report on living conditions in long-term-care homes, but quickly realized Brunelle had another idea in mind: \u2018we learned on location that she had started making arrangements to go to Zurich, Switzerland, to Dignitas<\/em>, which offered this service of assisted suicide\u2026 Then at one point\u2026 She asked me, would you come with me?\u2019 (translated from French, as all other quotes hereafter). Punctuating Brunelle\u2019s account in Manon<\/em>, the camera makes frequent use of insert shots: windows, fan, bags, clothes, papers, wheelchair, hands\u2026 which give us privileged access to her reality, while creating a clipped pace with abrupt cuts to unexpected angles. Yet, these cuts rarefy in the 6-minute scene during which Brunelle and a Dignitas<\/em> volunteer, sitting near a table with drinks and documents, talk through the assisted-suicide process and paperwork. Brunelle starts to thank the volunteer saying \u2018it\u2019s really a beautiful job you\u2019re doing\u2019, when he corrects her: \u2018I like being able to help you, but\u2026 you\u2019re the one doing it\u2019. While drinking a sugary anti-emetic mixture \u2018to calm her stomach\u2019 (as the volunteer puts it), Brunelle jokes it tastes like mouthwash. After being transported to a bed and before drinking sodium pentobarbital, Brunelle sings Neil Young\u2019s \u2018Heart of gold\u2019 with her friend Jean Verrette (a sound technician for Les Francs-tireurs<\/em>) \u2013 and these final scenes would strike the Qu\u00e9becois public much like Ram\u00f3n Sampedro\u2019s videotaped suicide struck the Spanish in 1998 (see related entry on Mar adentro<\/em>). In more than one interview, Dutrizac underscores the importance of Verrette\u2019s being there, as a close friend of Brunelle, singing and holding her hand, so she would not die amid strangers.<\/p> First aired on T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> on 18 November 2004, Manon<\/em> was a central story in a coordinated multi-media campaign that amplified its reach and, in turn, the public discussion on assisted dying in Qu\u00e9bec. One day before the TV premiere, the radio program Indicatif Pr\u00e9sent<\/em> aired an interview with Beno\u00eet Dutrizac, in which he states that Manon \u2018didn\u2019t want to be forgotten\u2019, but \u2018wanted, above all, to have control over the end of her life\u2019; about this desire for control, Dutrizac adds \u2013 \u2018that\u2019s where dignity comes in\u2019. On premiere day, Le Devoir<\/em> published an advance review by Paul Cauchon, qualifying Brunelle as \u2018a strong character\u2026 with a sharp intelligence and ironic sense of humour\u2019, who \u2018swears, smokes constantly, and expresses herself clearly\u2019. According to the critic, \u2018one needs a stone heart not to be shaken by such a documentary, which broaches a taboo\u2019. Cauchon indicates that the airing of Manon<\/em> would be immediately followed by a round-table moderated by journalist Joane Prince, featuring four guest panellists to debate the controversial topic: judge Jean-Louis Beaudoin, doctor and ethicist Hubert Marcoux, sociologist Joane Martel, and suicidology researcher Brian Mishara. That 60-minute debate was titled Le dernier droit?<\/em> (literally \u2018The last right?\u2019, but also a play on words, since it is colloquially used to refer to the home stretch in a race). Finally, Cauchon announces that T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> would \u2018set up an online forum for internet users\u2019 to weigh in on the debate. Therefore, viewers could \u2018react to the documentary\u2019 through the internet portal Manon \u2013 Le dernier droit?<\/em>, which displayed the qualifying subtitle \u2018a special program on assisted suicide\u2019 (the documentary-plus-debate combo would eventually be released as a DVD, now only extant in a few Canadian university libraries). One such viewer reaction, signed by Jean-Jacques Str\u00e9liski, commends the documentary\u2019s \u2018transparency, precision and discretion\u2019, as well as \u2018Brunelle\u2019s extraordinary lucidity, courage, and even humour\u2019, but also \u2018wonders about the potential abuses of this practice [of assisted suicide]\u2019. Moreover, the internet portal shared the results of a survey conducted by L\u00e9ger Marketing<\/em> with 1,000 Quebecers to gauge \u2018their opinions and attitudes toward euthanasia\u2019. The poll showed 2\/3 \u2018would want to be helped to die if they were suffering from an incurable illness\u2019, and nearly 8\/10 \u2018believe that a person who helped a loved one with an incurable illness to die should not be prosecuted\u2019 (with a margin of error of \u00b13.4% and 95% confidence).<\/p> One way to measure the impact of Brunelle\u2019s story is through the mentions of her name at the Assembl\u00e9e nationale du Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> (ANQ), appearing as early as 2005 but also throughout the 2009-2012 consultation period leading up to the province\u2019s law on end-of-life care (Bill 52). For example, speaking before an ANQ committee in 2010, the endocrinologist Jana Havrankova cited Brunelle\u2019s case of multiple sclerosis \u2013 alongside Sue Rodriguez\u2019s high-profile ALS case (see related Assisted Lab<\/em> entry) \u2013 as examples of patients with neurodegenerative diseases who \u2018should have had the right to die with a little more dignity, surrounded by their loved ones, at the very moment they irrevocably declared: Enough is enough\u2019. In 2012, the ANQ committee published its final report (the blueprint for Bill 52), which recommended the creation of \u2018medical aid in dying\u2019 (MAiD) as a concept legally distinct from \u2018assisted suicide\u2019. Given that criminal law falls under federal jurisdiction in Canada but healthcare is strictly provincial, Qu\u00e9bec was able to present MAiD as a new medical option for end-of-life care without breaking anti-suicide federal laws \u2013 thus passing its groundbreaking Bill 52 in 2014 (while the federal government would only legislate on assisted dying in 2016, through Bill C-14). However, Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s medicalization of aid in dying would still have deemed illegal Brunelle\u2019s act of ingesting the toxin provided by Dignitas<\/em>, as Bill 52 requires the euthanasic act to be performed by a physician (the 2016 federal Canadian law would allow both physician- and self-administered death as MAiD options outside Qu\u00e9bec). Furthermore, linking eligibility to having a public healthcare card (which excludes short-term and temporary visitors, such as international students) prevented \u2018suicide tourists\u2019 from accessing MAiD \u2013 so, if the roles were reversed and Manon had been a Swiss visitor to Canada, she would not have had access. The difficult issue of what characterizes \u2018terminality\u2019 may also have disqualified Brunelle before 2021, when a \u2018Track 2 MAiD\u2019 was created for those whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable (before Track 2, the requirement of a foreseeable death was left vague, but generally interpreted as \u2018less than 1 year\u2019). Regardless of eligibility criteria, Dutrizac has maintained that Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s Bill 52 should have been called \u2018the Manon Brunelle Law\u2019, because even though \u2018there were [other] women and men who carried the social, political, and scientific message\u2026 it was Manon who carried the human message\u2019.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.5075376884422111,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/visual\/manon\/509fcfd765-1713881214\/picture1-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"\u00a9 Liudochka, Rivendell, Deviant Art, 2015"},"data":[{"title":"Title","value":"\u2018Manon\u2019 by Andr\u00e9 St-Pierre et al."},{"title":"Author","value":"Andr\u00e9 St-Pierre (director), Beno\u00eet Dutrizac (interviews), Manon Brunelle (contributor), et al."},{"title":"Year","value":"2004"},{"title":"Language","value":"French"},{"title":"Tags","value":"Suicide Tourism \u2022 Inadequate Care \u2022 Fear of Being a Burden \u2022 Documentary"},{"title":"Legislative context","value":"Criminal Code, 1985, s 241 (Canada)"},{"title":"Author of entry","value":"Jacob Shannon, addendum by Carlos A. Pittella"},{"title":"First published","value":"01.08.2024"},{"title":"Last updated","value":"10.09.2026"}],"toggles":[{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"Volant et al., \u2018Brunelle Manon\u2019, Encyclop\u00e9die sur la mort, 2012","link":"http:\/\/agora.qc.ca\/thematiques\/mort\/dossiers\/brunelle_manon","pathname":"agora.qc.ca"},{"text":"Lysiane Gagnon, \u2018Opinion: Dying for assisted suicide\u2019, The Globe and Mail, 2004","link":"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/opinion\/dying-for-assisted-suicide\/article1144762\/","pathname":"theglobeandmail.com"},{"text":"Paul Cauchon, \u2018T\u00e9l\u00e9vision - T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec relance le d\u00e9bat sur le suicide assist\u00e9\u2019, Le Devoir, 2004","link":"https:\/\/www.ledevoir.com\/culture\/medias\/68781\/television-tele-quebec-relance-le-debat-sur-le-suicide-assiste","pathname":"ledevoir.com"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018La petite histoire d\u2019une grande r\u00e9volution\u2019, La mort libre : 10 ans d\u2019aide m\u00e9dicale \u00e0 mourir, Episode 3, Radio-Canada, 2024","link":"https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/ohdio\/balados\/11803\/la-mort-libre\/973018\/loi-politique-gouvernement-legislation","pathname":"ici.radio-canada.ca"},{"text":"\u2018In\u00e9dit Beno\u00eet Dutrizac | Faire \u0153uvre utile\u2019, \u00c7a finit bien la semaine, Facebook, 2020","link":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/3417453811677257\/","pathname":"facebook.com"},{"text":"\u2018La Suisse, plaque tournante de l\u2019aide \u00e0 mourir\u2019, Science Presse, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.sciencepresse.qc.ca\/blogue\/dire\/2019\/01\/11\/suisse-plaque-tournante-aide-mourir","pathname":"sciencepresse.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Suicide tourism and understanding the Swiss model of the right to die\u2019, The Conversation, 2018","link":"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/suicide-tourism-and-understanding-the-swiss-model-of-the-right-to-die-96698","pathname":"theconversation.com"},{"text":"\u2018Francs-tireurs et le documentaire \u00abManon\u00bb\u2019, T\u00e9l\u00e9-Qu\u00e9bec \u2013 YouTube, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SV3J9XOWAT8","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018Lutter pour la d\u00e9cence de son dernier soupir\u2019, Gazette des femmes, 2013","link":"https:\/\/gazettedesfemmes.ca\/7538\/lutter-pour-la-decence-de-son-dernier-soupir\/","pathname":"gazettedesfemmes.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Je ne veux pas mourir \u00e0 Zurich\u2019, LaPresse, 2009","link":"https:\/\/www.lapresse.ca\/debats\/votre-opinion\/la-presse\/200903\/05\/01-833455-je-ne-veux-pas-mourir-a-zurich.php","pathname":"lapresse.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Suicide assist\u00e9 : l\u2019histoire de Manon Brunelle\u2019, Ici Radio Canada, 2004","link":"https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/radio\/maisonneuve\/25112004\/42616.shtml","pathname":"ici.radio-canada.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Le suicide assist\u00e9 de Manon - Pol\u00e9mique autour de la clinique Dignitas\u2019, Le Devoir, 2004","link":"https:\/\/www.ledevoir.com\/societe\/69376\/le-suicide-assiste-de-manon-polemique-autour-de-la-clinique-dignitas","pathname":"ledevoir.com"},{"text":"St\u00e9phanie Cartier, \u2018Suicide assist\u00e9 - Dignitas n\u2019est pas un mod\u00e8le \u00e0 suivre\u2019, 2004","link":"https:\/\/www.ledevoir.com\/opinion\/idees\/69244\/suicide-assiste-dignitas-n-est-pas-un-modele-a-suivre","pathname":"ledevoir.com"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Le suicide assist\u00e9 et l\u2019euthanasie\u2019, Centre hospitalier de Rimouski, 2007","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130625081724\/https:\/\/www.dioceserimouski.com\/mgr\/bb\/suicide07.pdf","pathname":"web.archive.org"},{"text":"\u2018Bulletin\u2019, vol. 13, no. 2, 2005, R\u00e9seau de soins palliatifs du Qu\u00e9bec","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240615210842\/https:\/\/www.aqsp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Volume-13-no-2.pdf","pathname":"web.archive.org"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Journal des d\u00e9bats\u2019, Select Committee on Dying with Dignity, Assembl\u00e9 nationale du Qu\u00e9bec, vol 41, no 19, 26 November 2010 (Lisette Beno\u00eet)","link":"https:\/\/www.assnat.qc.ca\/en\/travaux-parlementaires\/commissions\/csmd-39-1\/journal-debats\/CSMD-101126.html","pathname":"assnat.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Journal des d\u00e9bats\u2019, Select Committee on Dying with Dignity, Assembl\u00e9 nationale du Qu\u00e9bec, vol 41, no 9, 12 October 2010 (Jana Havrankova)","link":"https:\/\/www.assnat.qc.ca\/en\/travaux-parlementaires\/commissions\/csmd-39-1\/journal-debats\/CSMD-101012.html","pathname":"assnat.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018M\u00e9moire pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 \u00e0 la Commission sur la question de mourir dans la dignit\u00e9\u2019, Assembl\u00e9e nationale du Qu\u00e9bec, 12 October 2010 (Jana Havrankova)","link":"https:\/\/www.assnat.qc.ca\/Media\/Process.aspx?MediaId=ANQ.Vigie.Bll.DocumentGenerique_37265&process=Default&token=ZyMoxNwUn8ikQ+TRKYwPCjWrKwg+vIv9rjij7p3xLGTZDmLVSmJLoqe\/vG7\/YWzz","pathname":"assnat.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Journal des d\u00e9bats\u2019, Committee on Health and Social Services, Assembl\u00e9 nationale du Qu\u00e9bec, vol 41, no 27, 16 February 2010 (Val\u00e9rie Chamberland)","link":"https:\/\/www.assnat.qc.ca\/en\/travaux-parlementaires\/commissions\/csss-39-1\/journal-debats\/CSSS-100216.html","pathname":"assnat.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018House of Commons Debates, Private Members\u2019 Business, Bill C-407: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (right to die with dignity)\u2019, 38-1, vol 124, no 144, 31 October 2005 (Francine Lalonde, Christiane Gagnon)","link":"https:\/\/www.ourcommons.ca\/DocumentViewer\/en\/38-1\/house\/sitting-144\/hansard","pathname":"ourcommons.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Journal des d\u00e9bats\u2019, Committee on Social Affairs, Assembl\u00e9 nationale du Qu\u00e9bec, col 38, no 110, 6 April 2005 (Luce S. B\u00e9rard)","link":"https:\/\/www.assnat.qc.ca\/en\/travaux-parlementaires\/commissions\/cas-37-1\/journal-debats\/CAS-050406.html","pathname":"assnat.qc.ca"},{"text":"\u2019Debates of the Senate\u2019, 38-1, vol 142, no 33, 9 February 2005 (Hon Lucie P\u00e9pin)","link":"https:\/\/sencanada.ca\/en\/content\/sen\/chamber\/381\/debates\/033db_2005-02-09-e","pathname":"sencanada.ca"},{"text":"S\u00e9nat du Canada, \u2018D\u00e9lib\u00e9rations et proc\u00e8s-verbaux - Comit\u00e9 s\u00e9natorial permanent des transports et des communications\u2019, SenCanada, 16 Dec. 2004","link":"https:\/\/sencanada.ca\/fr\/content\/sen\/committee\/381\/tran\/05evc-f","pathname":"sencanada.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Dying Justice: A Case for Decriminalizing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada\u2019, Alberta Law Review, 2004","link":"https:\/\/albertalawreview.com\/index.php\/ALR\/article\/download\/1277\/1266\/1388","pathname":"albertalawreview.com"}]}]}