Direct Abortion or Legitimate Medical Procedure Double Effect?

Defining "legitimate medical purpose".

Case Law, a regular AJHP section, is intended to provide pharmacists with timely information about recent court decisions that may affect pharmacy practice. Each installment includes pertinent background information, excerpts from the opinion of the court, and brief commentary. The contributing editor for the section is David B. Brushwood, J.D., Professor, Pharmacy Health Care Administration, U...

Two challenges to the double effect doctrine: euthanasia and abortion.

The validity of the double effect doctrine is examined in euthanasia and abortion. In these two situations killing is a method of treatment. It is argued that the doctrine cannot apply to the care of the dying. Firstly, doctors are obliged to harm patients in order to do good to them. Secondly, patients should make their own value judgments about being mutilated or killed. Thirdly, there is lit...

Direct and Indirect Abortion

How to reach legitimate decisions when the procedure is controversial

Imagine that a group which faces a decision problem does not agree on which decision procedure is appropriate. Can then a decision be reached that respects the procedural concerns of the group? There is a sense in which decisions can be legitimized without a legitimized procedure. We propose to decide in favour of an option which maximizes the number of persons whose judged-right procedure happ...

Sport-related concussions: paranoia or legitimate concern?