Terminally Active Euthanasia James Rachels Summary

James Rachels argues that in the case of a terminally ill patient who suffers from unimaginable pain, it is sometimes morally acceptable kill him via active euthanasia. Rachels defends his argument through the story of Jack. This story serves to describe the excruciating and incessant pain that many of the terminally ill face. It seems as though the only way Jack and many other hopeless patients could escape this agony is through death. Rachels claims that since Jack was going to die relatively soon anyway, there was no point in forcing him to suffer the pain caused by his disease. As long as Jack asked for death, it would be morally acceptable to end his misery. The Utilitarian approach to this ethical dilemma is based in the core idea that