PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT

A doctrine used to determine whether an action is morally

defensible when the action has more than one consequence, usually
both favorable & ill. With this concept the secondary effects maybe
foreseen, but can never be the intended outcomes. The Practitioner
could, when necessary, ethically prescribed or administer morphine for
pain, while understanding that the analgesic suppresses respiration- so
long as the intended effect is the former & never the latter & the good
intentions equal or outweigh harmful effects.

Guiding elements:
The course chosen must be good or at least morally neutral.
The good must not follow as a consequence of the secondary
harmful effects.
The harm must never be intended but nearly tolerated as causally
connected with the good intended.
The good must outweigh the harm.

NONMALEFICENCE
This principle imposes the duty to avoid or refrain from harming
the patient. The practitioner who cannot bring about good for the
patient is bound by duty to at least avoid harm. Most health care
professional pledges of codes of care echo the principle paraphrased
from the Hippocratic oath statement I will never use treatment to
endure or wrong the sick. In some way, this seems very similar to the
duty of Beneficence, where the practitioner works to maximize the
good for the patient & to minimize harm.
BENEFICENCE
This principle imposes upon the practitioner to seek the good
for the patients under all circumstances. It means to do what is best for
others and connotes kindness, charity and doing good. Beneficence
also refers to moral obligation to help others.