A woman who appears in an ad campaign for a Canadian suicide assistance program says she wants to live months before she dies.
The National Post reported last week that Jennifer Hatch was the subject of the "Everything is Beauty" campaign, designed by fashion house La Maison Simons and released in October.
But the 37-year-old used a pseudonym when she told Canada's CTV in June that she would rather live than take medically assisted suicide (MAID).
"I feel like I'm falling through the cracks, so if I don't get health care, can I get euthanasia?" And that's what healed me, Kat told CTV in June.
But CTV itself confirmed earlier this month that "The Cat" is actually Hatch. The woman asked the network to call her by a different name during an interview in the summer.
Hatch suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare and painful genetic condition in which the body does not produce enough collagen to hold tissues, skin and organs together, the Daily Mail reports. The disease was first diagnosed ten years ago.
According to a CTV interview, she struggled to get proper treatment for her condition, leaving her doctor.
"Because of my disability and money, I can't afford the resources to improve my quality of life," Hatt told CTV months ago. "Because of the financial and geographical closure, it is much easier to give up than to continue the struggle."
Hutch was killed in October.
In the All is Beauty ad, Hatch is seen in several scenes surrounded by friends and family on the beach, around a campfire, and around a table.
"Even now, as I seek help to end my life, in pain and in my final moments, there is still so much beauty," Hatch was heard saying about the exit during the announcement. "You have to be brave just to show up."
Hatch's friend Tama Ricker told CTV that Hatch accepts the decision and wants to be part of the ad campaign to get people talking about medicine.
"Our (healthcare) system is so flawed, and part of what Jennifer wanted was for people to talk," Ricker told the network last week. "She shouldn't be praising or encouraging anything other than telling her story, which can be a way for others to have very difficult conversations."