J. J. Hanson, a former marine who suffers from the same kind of brain cancer as 29 year-old Brittany Maynard, the woman who publicized her assisted suicide last year, is vigorously lobbying against an assisted suicide bill that is scheduled to be voted upon today by Washington D.C.’s City Council.

The Daily Signal is reporting on the impending bill, which can only move forward if a five-member Committee on Health and Human Services agree to pass it. At the present time, the committee is divided on the issue with both sides lobbying City Council members and the public in search of support.

Hanson, who describes himself as a “30 something Marine Corps veteran” suffering from glioblastoma brain cancer was given four months to live more than two years ago. He admits that there were moments that he considered the idea of taking pills to end his life.

“This was a very vulnerable situation for me,” Hanson told the Washington Free Beacon a few weeks ago. “I did question whether I should continue to battle. I wasn’t in the right state of mind.”

Hanson believes the availability of lethal drugs encourages suicide as a spur-of-the-moment decision rather than the thoughtful, consent-driven decision that proponents of euthanasia describe in arguments.

“When you’re in a state of depression you are not in the right place of mind to make a decision about whether to end your life in assisted suicide,” Hanson said. “If they put a gun in your hand at that time you would say it’s madness … [with pills] you’re putting them in a more vulnerable situation. You’re glorifying death to them.”

Hanson’s first-hand experience with the closeness of death began in May of 2014 when he was attending a business meeting. During the meeting, he “suddenly felt something in my body going horribly wrong.” He woke up in an ambulance only to find out that he had suffered a grand mal seizure.

An MRI revealed two lesions in his brain and a biopsy resulted in the worst possible news. A stage four glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of cancer, was growing in his left temporal lobe.

“My wife, Kris, was dealt the devastating news that I had terminal brain cancer and given a grim prognosis. Even though I was perfectly healthy a few days before, doctors believed that, based on the location and growth rate of my cancer, I had roughly four months to live.”

The couple was told that the tumors were inoperable and that they should enjoy whatever time they had left together.

“If assisted suicide were legal and based on that diagnosis, I could have gone to any doctor regardless of whether I had a previous relationship with them or not, and received a lethal prescription in a matter of days; and my insurance company would have likely paid for it — saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars," Hanson said.

But suicide was not an option. Instead, they sought other opinions and ultimately found a doctor who was able to remove a majority of the cancerous tumors. This was followed by radiation, chemotherapy, and participation in a clinical trial for a new drug.

His cancer is now in remission.

“I can’t help but think about if I had the choice to request assisted suicide drugs, and if I had used those drugs during those difficult moments. I would have lost the opportunity to make memories with my wife and son . . . . Assisted suicide is a decision that you can’t unmake. My wife would be without a husband and my son without a father.”

His experience led him to join the Patients Rights Action Fund, a national organization that fights the promotion of assisted suicide, where he now serves as president.

“Even the best doctors can be wrong, and not everyone has access to a second opinion like I did. I'm no better than the next cancer fighter – I'm just lucky,” he told the RecordOnline.com last month.

“Were assisted suicide on the books in our broken health care system, the unlucky may be pressured or forced to choose death over care. Do you trust the state or your insurance provider enough to roll those dice?” 

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