LESSON 1: OTHER RELEVANT ETHICAL ➢ The good effect must take action

PRINCIPLES immediately rather than the bad effect.

Bad effects must come after.
1. PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT d) The good effect must be sufficiently
➢ It means that the intervention you will do has desirable to compensate for the allowing
two effects, either good or bad. of the bad effect.
➢ It aims to provide specific guidelines for ➢ A good effect is really needed. The good
determining when it is morally permissible to effect must be bigger than the bad effect.
perform an action in pursuit of a good end in
full knowledge that the action will also bring APPLICATIONS:
bad results. A doctor who intends to hasten the death of
➢ It will give us the rules of the guidelines when a terminally ill by injecting a large dose of morphine
to implement the interventions. would act impermissibly because he intends to bring
➢ Says that if doing something morally good about the patient’s death. However, a doctor who
has a morally bad side-effect, it is ethically intended to relieve the patient’s pain with that same
OK to do it providing the bad side-effect does and merely foresaw the hastening of the
wasn’t intended. This is true even if you patient’s death would act permissibly.
foresaw that the bad effect would probably
happen. ➔ Giving morphine is a good act if the purpose
➢ Good intention. is to relieve the pain of the client. However, if
➢ Example: Giving an antibiotic (Good side). the purpose is to hasten the death of the
Giving antibiotics is good for preventing the patient then it is a bad act.
spread of infection. However, there are
antibiotics that will give bad side effects to the A doctor who believed that abortion was
client such as diarrhea (bad side). wrong, even in order to save the mother’s life, might
nevertheless consistently believe that it would be
FOUR CRITERIA FOR DOUBLE EFFECT: possible to perform a hysterectomy on a pregnant
a) The act itself must be morally good or at woman with cancer. In carrying out the
least indifferent action. hysterectomy, the doctor would aim to save the life
➢ Example of indifferent action is abortion. of the woman while merely foreseeing the death of
Abortion is the intention to kill. But, if the the fetus. Performing an abortion, by contrast, would
intention is to stabilize the health of the involve intending to kill the fetus to save the mother.
mother, then abortion may be permissible
and that's considered indifferent action. ➔ Abortion will be the effect of hysterectomy
b) The agent may not positively will the bad because the mother has uterine cancer. In
effect but may permit it. If he could attain which case, the abortion as a result of
the good effect without the bad effect he hysterectomy to save the life of the mother is
should do so. permissible. However, abortion by itself is
➢ You do not intentionally want the bad impermissible. Also, if abortion was done
effect to happen but you may permit it to intending to kill the fetus if bringing
happen because you can attain something good to the mother then it is
something good. permitted.
c) The good effect must flow from the action
at least immediately as the bad effect. In To kill a person whom you know to be
other words, the good effect must be plotting to kill you would be impermissible because it
produced directly by the action not by the would be a case of intention killing; However, to
bad effect. Otherwise, the agent will be strike in self-defense against an aggressor is
using bad means to a good end, which is permissible even if one foresees that the blow by
never allowed. which one defends oneself will be fatal.
 to kill. You pave the way to
➔ Killing is an immoral act. However, in this meet the killer and the victim.
situation it is still punishable if you kill for self ○ Another example is when you
defense. But the punishment is light hinder justice.
because the intention to kill is not there. 3. PROXIMATE AND REMOTE
Whether or not you kill the person who ➢ Proximate - consists of an act that is
attacked you, it is still punishable. intimately linked with the performance
of an evil action due to its close
2. PRINCIPLE OF LEGITIMATE COOPERATION bearing.
Portrays the principle of double effect in a scenario ○ You were there during the
in which more than one person participates in the scene and have direct
actions being evaluated. contribution to the completion
of the act.
VARIOUS DEGREES OF COOPERATION ○ Bigger and heavier
1. FORMAL AND MATERIAL punishment.
➢ Formal - consist of an explicit ➢ Remote - consist of an act with
intention and willingness for the evil distant bearing upon or connection
act. The one formally cooperating with the execution of an evil act.
wills and intends the evil action.
➢ Material - consists of an act other MORAL RULES GOVERNING COOPERATION
than the evil act itself but facilitates a) No one should formally and directly
and contributes to its achievement. cooperate in the performance of an evil
The one materially cooperating may action.
provide means apart from the evil act b) If a reason sufficiently grave exists, material
itself which is used to carry out the cooperation in the performance of an evil
performance of an evil act. action may be morally excused.
○ Your provided materials such c) If the material cooperation is proximate, a
as gun for the completion of reason sufficiently grave should exist so as
the act. to be morally excused without which evil is
○ Are you punishable by law? incurred.
Yes. Because you have
cooperated to the crime 3. PRINCIPLE OF COMMON GOOD AND
2. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SUBSIDIARITY
➢ Direct - consists of direct ➢ This principle warns about the tendency of the
participation in the performance of an state and other large scale institutions to usurp
evil act. The one directly cooperating (illegal and no permission) authority to control
gets involved by openly and persons, thereby destroying individual liberty
straightforwardly taking part in the and initiative.
particle of an evil action. ➢ It means that what an individual, lower or small
○ You took part. group can achieve within his/her or its capacity
➢ Indirect - consists of an act that is should now be taken away and transmitted to
not intimately connected with the the custody and performance of a higher or
performance of an evil act as in bigger group.
formal and direct cooperation but ➢ Example: In an effort to control the apparent
whose effect may have no indirect rapid population growth in the country, the State
bearing upon it. formulates a program on responsible
○ Example: Pinakiusapan ka parenthood which leads to the enactment of a
without knowing the intention law mandating every family to just limit the
number of its offspring only to one or two under
 pain or penalty. And so, the State through the inevitable for the whole to function
DOH conducts contraceptives programs and accurately.
distributes various forms of contraceptive ➢ Parts as such should be continuously
methods to ensure the State-directed number of connected with the whole of which they
children every family ought to raise. are parts without which they cease to
○ The DOH will not acknowledge the idea be.
and the praises of the project of the ■ If that person complains about one
state. DOH helped the state for the part of the body, it could only
completion of the project which is done mean that other parts are affected.
for the good and betterment of all. ➢ However, if its state of condition and
○ You do not just own the credits. You continuous existence as part pose a
have done an action that will benefit all threat to do more harm than good
the people and you have people who leading to the destruction of the whole
worked with you. It will be accredited to and that there is no other means by
all who contributed to that project. which the problem can be addressed,
the principle of totality provides that it be
4. PRINCIPLE OF BIOETHICS remove and sacrificed for the sake of
❖ Principle of stewardship the whole
➢ Refers to the expression of one’s ■ Example: A patient is admitted
responsibility to take care of, nurture with a gangrenous leg. The
and cultivate what has been entrusted to attending doctors reasons out,
him. based on scientific medical basis,
➢ We are created in God's own images that there is no other way which
and so sacred. the patient can be saved but to
➢ Requires us that the gifts of human life amputate the gangrenous part of
and environment must be used the patient’s body.
profoundly.
➢ We are rational, thus we need to
cultivate our skills and knowledge.
➢ First and foremost, it is your
responsibility to take care of yourself
first.
➢ In health care practice, stewardship
refers to the execution of responsibility
of the health care practitioners to look
after, provide necessary health care
services, and promote the health and
life of those entrusted to their care.
❖ Principle of Totality
➢ The whole implies the existence of its
parts. The existence of its parts
indicates the existence of the whole.
■ Example: Simple toothache can
affect your entire body. A single
part of the body can function the
whole, and for the whole, to enable
it to function, you need that single
part of your body. Because if one
part is missing, it might be