Addressing diversion effects.

Alan Wertheimer argues that those who promulgate principles of research ethics have a responsibility to take into account the diversion effects of those principles. In this commentary, I argue that Wertheimer's proposal that diversion effects should be considered when promulgating principles of research ethics makes sense, but it often may be best to deal with these effects once a principle has been accepted and implemented, rather than focusing on them at the outset.