5 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES There are two kinds of violations:
a. Dishonesty (lie)
OUTLINE
I. 5 Ethical Principles
II. Principle of Double Effect
BENEFICENCE
 From Latin meaning (to promote good)
 Includes proper diagnosis and treatment
presentation.
 Violations could include:
a. Failure to diagnose or treat
b. Not promoting the best treatment
c. Patient abandonment
NONMALEFICENCE
 From the Latin meaning (to do no harm)
 Includes appropriate treatment and execution of the
treatment
 Violation could include:
a. Unnecessary care or aggressive care
b. Incompetent treatment
c. Not referring when indicated.
AUTONOMY
(RESPECT FOR OTHERS)
 From the Greek: (auto):”one’s own”, (nomos): “rule,
principle, law”
 Autonomy means allowing others to make their own
choices.
 Study have shown that
- Capable people benefit from making their own
health decisions.
- Making their own decisions gives patients
satisfaction
 This principle is thought to be the most important of
the five principles, by far.
PATERNALISM
 Interfering with the autonomy of a patient who is
about to harm themselves.
VERACITY
 relates to the practice of telling the truth
 binds both health practitioner and patient in an
association of truth
 Coming from the Latin word meaning truth it means
honesty
 Making a decision depends on knowing the truth.
a. BOTH parties have the right to choose.
b. BOTH parties must tell the truth
CANSICO, FUERZAS, MELLO, VILLOTE, GAMULO BSN 2D
b. Willful omission (not telling the whole truth is a lie.
JUSTICE
(FAIRNESS)
 Involves treating all patients in the same way
(without bias)
 Includes:
a. Emergency patients
b. Disabilities (HIV)
c. Access to care (Medicaid?)
d. Charity
FIDELITY
 Trust and Confidentiality
 Keeping the patients (medical) information
confidential
PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
 In cases in which we foresee the possibility or the
inevitability of both a good and bad consequence of
a given action the principle of double effect assist
us in determining whether or not one’s action is
morally justifiable.
The principle of double effect involves five criteria:
a. No easy alternative! – In the true dilemma. First
appealing to the principle of double effect is
justified only if there is no alternative to the
action at issue this principle can be applied only
in a genuine dilemma.
b. We have (must) choose the good! - The action
of the issue must be good in its object or at least
neutral. Here one is considering the object of the
action the first of the three sources in
determining moral action.
c. We must not choose evil/ we cannot intend
to do evil- the possible or inevitable evil
consequence must not be intended. Here one is
considering the intention the person in a moral
dilemma would prefer that there be no risk of evil
at all but can do nothing about the fact that such
a risk or even worse the inevitability of evil does
exist.
d. The good chosen cannot result from evil
tolerated (the good outcome cannot be a
consequence of evil outcome) -we cannot
choose evil so that good will result. We cannot
choose robbing a bank in order to pursue the
final goal of giving money to the poor in other
words “the end does not justify the means”. Here
one is considering the circumstances of the
action.
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 e. Proportionality- the good consequence must of the mother’s life being saved but is not the direct means
be proportionate to the evil consequence. Here of saving that life.
one is considering the relationship between the e. Fifth criteria proportionality the fifth criteria would ask
consequences themselves. whether the removal of the fallopian tube is justified for
saving of the life of the mother? YES while the staging
PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT IN ACTION may be to the mother being less fertile in the future it
should not render her infertile even in the case of infertility
 Take the case of an ectopic pregnancy in this the value of the mother’s life is greater than her fertility
situation a mother has ovulated and the egg has
there are a number of caveats to the situation as is to be
been fertilized creating a new human life however the
expected with nearly all moral dilemmas.
new embryo did not implant in the uterine lining as it
is meant to rather the embryo has implanted outside Every ectopic pregnancy is different some do not occur in the
of the uterus in the fallopian tube, this causes a fourth a few for rather service or another location outside of
serious problem for both the life of the baby and the the uterus in most cases when an ectopic pregnancy is
life of the mother for the baby this will tragically lead discovered it is because the fallopian tube has already burst
to death without the proper nutrients to sustain life and the mother is already experiencing severe bleeding in
which are available within the uterus the child cannot some cases ectopic pregnancy is discovered at a point when
strive the fallopian tube is not designed to provide for the growing embryo is merely viable if there’s any
the baby and is also not large enough to contain the circumstance where the child’s life may be preserved by
developing child’s body this lead to the mortal danger medical means outside of the mother’s body then those
for the mother should the child continue to grow in means must be taken modern medicine is not prepared to
the fallopian tube it will eventually burst this will claim their child can grow for the entire gestation period
cause a serious hemorrhage for the mother that is outside of the womb but many strides have been made to it
often life-threatening. possible for younger and younger children to survive
premature birth.
a. Let’s consider first criteria true dilemma - is this a true
dilemma? YES  Absolutes in the situation are that we cannot do what
b. Second criteria choosing the good the object is to we know to be a moral evil which is directly killing the
save as many lives a possible. In this case sadly the child we also have an obligation to help save the life
child’s life cannot be saved however the mother’s life may of the mother and the child within reasonable means.
be saved they are choosing to save the mother’s life in
doing so we are sadly accepting not choosing but
tolerating the death of the human embryo. Remember this
was a dilemma.
c. Third criteria is refusing to do the usual. This requires
us to consider how the mother’s life is to be saved in such
an instance we will give one example that does not fulfill REFERENCES
that requirement and one example that does one method
of saving the mother’s life in such case is a saline injection I. Notes from: Mrs. Eriadno’s uploaded video
this would be injected into the fallopian tube into the on Quipper.
growing embryo itself and would cause the embryo to die
and dissolve. This would spare the mother’s life and
protect her fallopian tube from bursting, you will hopefully
notice that in this case there is an evil outcome that is
directly caused, one may argue that the intention is still to
save the mother’s life which is a good intention this is still
the direct killing of the child. The alternative option it to
remove part of the fallopian tube itself in this instance
once again the mother’s life is spared also in this instance
the child dies however this is considered a natural death
for the child as the death was not brought about on
purpose but by the unfortunate natural circumstances of
implanting in the fallopian tube the doctor does not
remove the child from necessary nutrients or an
environment where the child can thrive because those
things have already been denied the child who is not
developing in the uterus the doctor does remove the
possibility of serious hemorrhage from the mother by
removing the section of the fallopian tube.
d. Fourth criteria the good outcome must not be a
consequence of the evil outcome. In this case the evil
consequence that is not intended is the death of a child,
did we kill the baby to save the mother in the second
instance the child’s death is a tragic natural consequence

CANSICO, FUERZAS, MELLO, VILLOTE, GAMULO BSN 2D 2