Preventive Medicine Can Be Ordinary Means

In the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means, certain types of procedures cannot be ordinary means in the sense of morally obligatory. Daniel O’Connor has argued that preventive medical interventions, as a category, can never be ordinary means. This essay critically examines O’Connor’s thesis and argues that preventive medicine can be ordinary means. This argument is based on a central case, the magisterium’s teaching regarding related topics, theologians, and logic.