Competing harms
Competing harms, also known as necessity defense, self-defense defense, or lesser harm, is a legal doctrine in certain U.S. states, particularly in New England. For example, the Maine Criminal Code holds that "Conduct that the person believes to be necessary to avoid imminent physical harm to that person or another is justifiable if the desirability and urgency of avoiding such harm outweigh, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the harm sought to be prevented by the statute defining the crime charged.