B.C. woman behind 'dystopian' commercial found 'death care' easier than health care

A Metro Vancouver woman who garnered national attention earlier this year is doing so again, posthumously, in a "disturbing" viral video that has prompted fierce criticism of a Canadian department store.

A Metro Vancouver woman who garnered national attention earlier this year is doing so again, posthumously, in a "disturbing" viral video that has prompted fierce criticism of a Canadian department store.

The short film, titled “All is Beauty” was posted to YouTube by Simons and also appeared as shorter commercials. In it, a woman is seen surrounded by people on a beach, in a candle-lit forest, and in other settings with costumed dancers and illuminated fantastical creatures that depict a dream-like summary of a woman’s final days.

“Even now, as I seek help to end my life, with all the pain, and in these final moments, there is still so much beauty,” says Jennyfer Hatch in the unsettling film, which is visually striking and appears more like an art film than a commercial.

Now that she has died, CTV News can reveal that she is the same woman who spoke to us in June about her struggles to find treatment for a rare and complex connective tissue disease, prompting her to seek Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as a last-ditch effort for palliative care.

Hatch asked us to use the pseudonym "Kat" as she described chronic pain and other debilitating symptoms for which she found insufficient support in B.C.’s health-care system, despite battling for years, whereas a MAID application was approved within weeks. 

Hatch was emaciated by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and other complications when she died in October at age 37.

The Simons film makes no reference to her decade-long illness, nor her struggles accessing support from Fraser Health. One of her closest friends explained that despite her speaking up, palliative care and other help were not offered, and Hatch made peace with her decision to choose the time and setting of her death.