Principle of double effect

The principle of double effect is a guideline that tells us when it's okay to do something that has two effects - one good and one bad. The guideline says that it's okay to do the action as long as the bad effect isn't the main reason why you do it and the good effect is strong enough to make up for the bad effect. For example, if you give a medicine to someone that has two effects - one good (it will make them feel better) and one bad (it might make them feel worse) - it's okay to give them the medicine if the good effect will be much bigger than the bad effect.