Double effect principle

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

An ethical doctrine holding that an action with both a good and a harmful effect may be morally permissible if the action itself is not intrinsically wrong, the agent intends only the good effect, the bad effect is not the means to the good effect, and there is proportionate reason for allowing the harmful consequence.

Examples

• Palliative physicians invoke the double effect principle when high-dose pain relief may hasten death.
• The double effect principle has roots in Thomistic moral theology and is widely applied in medical ethics.

Synonyms: doctrine of double effect, principle of double effect