When four principles are too many: a commentary

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 197 - 198
• Main Author: Gillon, Raanan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics 01.04.2012; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Analysis; Beneficence; Clinical ethics; Clinical medicine; Decision Making - ethics; Discourse ethics; Ethical dilemmas; Ethical Theory; Humans; Law; Legal ethics; Media ethics; Medical ethics; Medical practice; Medical practices; Moral principles; Morality; Physicians; Principle-Based Ethics; Principles; resource allocation; right to refuse treatment; rights; Rule of law; suicide/assisted suicide; Writers
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100385

This commentary briefly argues that the four prima facie principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for autonomy and justice enable a clinician (and anybody else) to make ethical sense of the author's proposed reliance on professional guidance and rules, on law, on professional integrity and on best interests, and to subject them all to ethical analysis and criticism based on widely acceptable basic prima facie moral obligations; and also to confront new situations in the light of those acceptable principles.