PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT From a common cause an action- two effect are produced: A good effect and an evil

l effect Determinants of the Morality of Human Act The ACT itself The INTENTION CIRCUMSTANCES No amount of good intention or difficult circumstance can make a wrong action correct. Basic Axioms of Morality Majority opinion is not the norm of morality Widespread custom or the conventional wisdom is not the norm of morality A good end does not justify an evil means If an act is evil by its nature, nothing can make it good We cannot allow our emotions to warp our moral judgment Principle of Double Effect Act itself must be morally good or at least indifferent. The motive behind the act must be to achieve the good effect never the evil effect, even though it is foreseen and permitted The good effect of the act must precede the evil effect or at least simultaneous with it. The good effect must be sufficiently desirable to outweigh the evil effect. M, a 34 year old woman is pregnant, AOG=24 weeks. During her pregnancy and at her usual check-up while complaining of some burning pain in her stomach, her OB-Gyn sent her for an Ultrasound procedure. The Ultrasound revealed a tumor that is cancerous. Surgical operation was indicated. M was told that if this operation pushes through, she is going to lose her baby. It is actually her first. M is confused and does not know if the procedure is morally acceptable. How do you educate M on this matter? PRINCIPLE OF COOPERATION COOPERATION Working with another in the performance of an action. Types of cooperation: 1. FORMAL COOPERATION cooperator wills the evil either by an explicit act of will or actual sharing in the evil act itself Formal cooperation in evil is never allowed. A nurse must never formally cooperate in immorality either by explicitly willing the evil or by directly sharing in the immoral act. COOPERATION 2. MATERIAL COOPERATION Cooperator performs an act which in itself is not wrong though it is used by the principal agent to help commit the evil action It consists in performing morally indifferent actions which make the operation possible. PRINCIPLE OF COOPERATION 1. Formal cooperation is always immoral 2. Immediate material cooperation is likewise immoral 3. Mediate material cooperation may be moral CASE An unmarried woman attempted abortion because her boyfriend did not want to marry her. In her attempt she was bleeding profusely and her relatives rushed her to the hospital. The doctors completed the procedure ethical or not? Ethical Dilemmas Arises when a nurse must choose between competing claims or select from equally undesirable alternatives Ethical Dilemmas The nurse should apply a rational decision-making process by gathering all the facts, identify the problem or dilemma, listing all possible actions, choosing the most appropriate action and evaluating the results of the action ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND NURSING CARE