High-end fashion retailer La Maison Simons is using its advertising to promote euthanasia in the guise of art, leaving customers and critics fuming over the store cashing in over its message that life is cheap.
In November the Canadian retailer promoted the “beauty” in government assisted suicide with a promotional online video that many say crossed the line between advertising, art, and exploitation.
The video, titled, “All Is Beauty,” tells the story of 37-year-old Canadian Jennyfer Hatch who voluntarily euthanized herself through Canada’s MAiD’ program (Medical Assistance in Dying) due to suffering from the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Hatch begins the video saying “dying in a hospital bed” is “not what’s natural,” as a sterile looking hospital room artistically drifts away into the ocean to reveal a scenic beach setting.
“Last breaths are sacred,” her narration continues. “Even though, as I seek help to end my life, with all the pain and in these final moments, there is still so much beauty.”
Three-minutes in length, the ad/art film depicts a montage of Hatch smiling and laughing in a whimsical candlelit forest full of magical images. With smiling friends and loved ones by her side, her oncoming death is ‘celebrated’ by making giant bubbles on the beach before enjoying a meal together and then taking in a puppet show. The dream-like summary of a woman’s final days is set to what could best be described as disturbing post-apocalyptic techno beats.
The video was made into various lengths and shared on YouTube, Elon Musk’s Twitter, and other platforms. It was released one day after Hatch’s death and at one point displays the text: “the most beautiful exit.” Each version of the video closes with the text: All Is Beauty @simons.
With more than one million views, the campaign was widely denounced online as being; ‘perverted,’ ‘exploitative,’ and ‘satanic,’ before being taken down by the retailer amid online backlash.
Just some of the online comments in response to the Simons ad:
How does this even sell women’s clothing? Seriously, why did they even make this snuff film?
Why are they glamorizing this? Isn’t this something that, while it may be a reasonable option in extreme cases, should be something we try to not let happen to people. Life is precious.
The ad is beautifully shot, and the costume department really outdid itself. Simons clothes are to die for.
There should be better options for people than just offing themselves because times are tough. We’re in a recession. So now the government will help you kill yourself if you can’t make your mortgage? Don’t worry though, they’ll keep your house.
Who let Satan direct this Simons ad?
A Death obsessed culture
Medically assisted suicide in Canada was previously only available to the terminally ill although due to recent legislative changes the practice has come under intense criticism by ethicists and the general public. In recent months there have been disturbing reports of enthusiastic government approval and encouragement for people not terminally ill to take their own lives.
Last August Get Woke Up! told the story of Tracey Thompson, a Toronto woman seeking to end her life due to suffering with so-called ‘long covid.’ Recently confirmed reports have come to light of veterans with conditions such as PTSD and other non-terminal medical issues being prodded by Canadian Armed Forces councilors towards the option of being murdered by their own government. One former Paralympian champion and decorated veteran shocked MPs recently in a parliamentary hearing with alarming revelations. Retired corporal Christine Gauthier told the hearing that when she asked Veterans Affairs for assistance paying for a wheelchair ramp she was instead offered the equipment to kill herself.
Some Canadian parents have asked for medically assisted suicide for their own babies in the province of Quebec. Still more are seeking the option of death at the hands of the state simply because they are poor.
Stunning, brave
La Maison Simons executive Peter Simons said the goal of the video was to ‘truly reflect on who we want to be as a company,’ having made ‘the courageous choice to use the privilege of our voice and platform to create something meaningful, something that is less about commerce and more about connection.’
He added that Hatch was ‘courageous’ and ‘inspiring’ in her story and hoped it might give people ‘the strength and the courage to see beauty in the more difficult moments in life.’
The amount of terminally-ill Canadians dying from euthanasia has risen dramatically from just 1,018 in 2016 when MAiD was first introduced to more than 10,000 in 2021. Euthanasia now represents more than 3% of all deaths in Canada. Some critics worry that the deadly growth rate of the practice puts the country on track to align with the anti-human goals of the UNs Agenda 2030.
Soon, patients with mental health issues will be eligible for assisted suicide in the country. The new criteria will come into effect in March of 2023, when patients will only need to give proof they suffer from a severe mental illness to be eligible for euthanasia.
