Beneficence and Non-maleficence

Question 1

What are these two principles and how are they related to one
another?

Answer 1

beneficence requires us to
do good,
non-maleficence requires us to avoid harm
to the patient
(both rest on patients interest)

Question 2

Aren’t these principles the same? Isn’t avoiding harm just one
instance of benefiting a person?

Answer 2

nonmaleficence:
• Do not kill.
• Do not cause needless pain.
• Do not incapacitate others 
⇒ The important point to notice is that each of these principles can be
met by doing nothing.

beneficence:
• Prevent the infliction of needless pain.
• Prevent killing.
• Prevent incapacitating others

Question 3

How do these principles help us to make treatment decisions?

Answer 3

There is no way to use these principles to make decisions in the abstract.

Question 4

How does one tell what benefits and harms the patient? Can one
consider quality of life?

Answer 4

medical practitioners should to distinguish

questions of medical benefit, quality of life.

Question 5

Does appeal to the quality of life mean that we can decide not to
treat a mentally retarded or severely disabled neonate who might
medically benefit from treatment?

Answer 5

In short ‘no.’
mental retardation or disability ought not be a
decisive factors by themselves in determining treatment,
he or she can lead a life of some
satisfaction even if it departs from a normal life, that is sufficient to generate interests in terms of which benefits and harms to the patient can
be established

Question 6

Is financial or emotional burden to the family relevant to
determining how these principles can be used to categorize
treatments?

Answer 6

In short ‘no.’
what is in the interest of the patient,
not what is in the interest of the family.

Question 7

How then ought one to determine what will count as quality of life
for a particular patient and so the treatment that provides a
medical benefit?

Answer 7

-competent, one ought normally to give most
weight to what the patient sees as beneficial
-not competent, one should consult his or her
living will or his or her surrogate.

Question 8

How does this “patient interest” or “medical indications”
approach to classifying treatment differ from more traditional
accounts?

Answer 8

It replaces them.

However, because of the unsure character of these matters, careful
attention must be given to deciding with a full understanding of the law
and with sensitivity to the disagreements these issues engender.