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Luc Bovens on Catholicism and HIV

Philosophy Bites

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The Doctrine of Double Effect in HIV Discordant Couples

The doctrine of double effect says roughly that an action is permissible if the good effects outweigh the bad effects and you do not intend the bad effects. If it's possible to take out a cancerous uterus without intending to kill the fetus, then it seems to me that it’s also possible to put on a condom without intending to thwart procreation. Catholic Church is opposed to active euthanasia. They are not opposed to giving morphine to terminally ill patients. We know that morphine hastens the death of a patient. The Church will say that it's permissible to give the morphine because the only thing you're intending is to alleviate the pain.

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