Which statement accurately describes the principle of double effect?

• A. Harm must be avoided at all costs.
• B. Action with both good and harm if the harm is the means.
• C. No harm at all.
• D. Harm is the means.

Answer: (B)

The principle of double effect says you may perform an action that has both a good and a bad outcome only if the bad outcome is not intended and is not the means by which the good outcome is achieved. In addition, there must be a morally proportionate reason to pursue the good effect, and the bad effect can be foreseen but must not be the driver of the action.

In practice, this means you plan the action for the positive result, while recognizing a potential harm that may occur but does not intend it. For example, giving strong pain relief to relieve severe suffering may foresee a possible shortening of life, but the aim is to relieve pain, not to shorten life; the shortening is not the means by which relief is achieved and is not intended.

If a description says the harmful effect is the means by which the good effect is obtained, it does not fit this framework, because the bad effect would be the method used to achieve the good outcome, which violates the core condition that the harm must not be the means.