Baylor University, a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, provides a vibrant campus community for more than 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship.

Baylor University 

New Row

Contact expert @[Full Name](fullname), @[Job Title](job_title) at @[Organization](organization) for media, speaking, professional opportunities and more.

@[Full Name](fullname) at @[Organization](organization) | Contact Form

Expert Inquiry

Open Sans

Emerging Scholar Award

American Academy of Religion

American Society for Bioethics and Humanities 

Disability, Quality of Life, and Vitalism in End-of-Life Care

A novel tool to assess the capacity of people with dementia to designate a surrogate

“A Gospel Choir and an Elevator”: The One Wishes of Disabled Christians

Scans and Prints

AI and Human Dignity Within Health Care: A Christian Bioethical Assessment

Misuses of “quality of life” judgments in end-of-life care

Devan and Tyler catch-up with Prof Jason Wasserman and discuss bioethics, social science, and Wasserman's work with people experiencing homelessness.

Bioethics, Social Science &amp; Homelessness

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Devan Stahl about disability, eugenics, metaphysics, and how theology can help navigate the ethics of medicine. The subject of our book is Devan's new book Disability's Challenge to Theology (University of Notre Dame Press).

Devan Stahl is Assistant Professor of Religion at Baylor University and co-host of the podcast Bioethics for the People.

An Era of Soft Eugenics? Devan Stahl on Disability's Challenge to Theology

When you hear the phrase quality of life, what comes to mind? Having dinner with family, learning a language, watching a movie with friends? Or, does the image of a patient struggling to perform basic tasks such as bathing or getting dressed, or someone who is reliant on a ventilator to breathe come to mind? Despite its inherently subjective and multifaceted nature, quality of life is a term that is widely used in healthcare, particularly for making critical decisions that have life-altering consequences. It is a complex construct that encompasses a wide range of factors that affect a person's overall sense of well-being, including their physical health, emotional state, social connections, and financial stability.

In this all new in-depth episode of EthicsLab, with our guests we explore how the concept of quality of life is used in medical decision making and shed light on the challenges this brings, especially to those in the disability community. We offer several solutions to how these challenges can be overcome.

Our guests in this episode include: 

 	Dr. Devan Stahl, bioethicist and Assistant Professor of Religion at Baylor University specializing in clinical ethics and disability ethics.  
 	Melissa Crisp-Cooper (with support from husband Owen Cooper as her revoicer), Health Advocate at UCSF focused on educating clinicians on the needs of people with disabilities and how to interact with them as patients
 	Dr. Clarissa Kripke, Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF and Director of Office of Developmental Primary Care, a program dedicated to improving outcomes for people with developmental disabilities across the lifespan with an emphasis on adolescents and adults.

Additional resources relating to or referenced in this episode:

 	Misuses of “Quality of Life” Judgments in End-of-Life Care, Stahl Devan
 	Clinical Ethics: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decisions in Clinical Medicine, Albert Jonsen, Mark Siegler, William Winslade
 	Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Tom Beauchamp and James Childress 
 	Who Defines My Quality of Life?: Perspectives from Disability-Advocates and Caregivers (White Paper) 
 	Office of Developmental Primary Care 
 	A survey on self-assessed well-being in a cohort of chronic locked-in syndrome patients: happy majority, miserable minority, Bruno, Marie-Aurélie, et al.
 	Using quality of life measures in the clinical setting, Higginson, Irene J., and Alison J. Carr
 	Measuring quality of life: who should measure quality of life, Hall, A. J., and L. Kalra

Beyond Limitations: Disability and Quality of Life

Imaging and Imagining Illness: Becoming Whole in a Broken Body

Bioenhancement Technologies and the Vulnerable Body: A Theological Engagement

Disability's Challenge to Theology: Genes, Eugenics, and the Metaphysics of Modern Medicine

Devan Stahl is an Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion at Baylor University and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Innovation, and Technology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She specializes in bioethics, disability ethics, and Christian ethics. Dr. Stahl also volunteers as a clinical ethics consultant for Baylor, Scott, and White Hillcrest. She is the author of Disability’s Challenge to Theology: Genes, Eugenics, and the Metaphysics of Modern Medicine (Notre Dame Press), which develops a Christian response to genetic technologies using the insights of disability scholars. Dr. Stahl also hosts the popular podcast Bioethics for the People, which explores the work of bioethicists for a general audience.

Bioethics

End of Life

Beginning of Life

Disability

Religious Ethics

Religion and Medicine

Genetics

Medical Technologies

Faculty Profile

Personal Website

Bioethics for the People Podcast

Google Scholar Profile

LinkedIn

Disability and Chronic Illness: A Significant Dialogue with Jens Zimmerman and Devan Stahl

Mind and Spirit: Ethical Foundations in Scientific Research

#973 – Disability, Theology, and the Church: Dr. Devan Stahl

How students can use college for spiritual growth

Ethicists Collaborate with Palliative Care Team

S1.E5: Theology & Disability

'Christians and the Vaccine' project: Combating ethical qualms of evangelical communities

Meet Baylor’s nationally recognized expert on bioethics

The EthicsLab Podcast explores current health care ethics issues with national experts to provide better knowledge and practical results. Join us as we work to enable health care professionals and community leaders to deliver the best possible health care experience.

EthicsLab

Bioethics for the People Podcast is for anyone interested in bioethics. Wait, not sure what bioethics is? We are here to explore that question.

Bioethics for the People

Currents in Religion is a podcast from the Baylor University Religion Department and Baylor University Press. We host conversations with academics, writers, and artists that explore some of the most interesting currents in religious studies, with a focus on Christianity. Episodes release weekly. 

On this podcast you'll hear discussions about theology, ethics, biblical studies (New Testament and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament), history, archaeology, and so on. 

Engage with us on Twitter (@cirbaylor) or email our host, Claire Thompson Mummert (claire_mummert1@baylor.edu).

Currents in Religion

Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion

Can fine art help us see illness differently? While medical imaging reveals the body’s inner workings, it can’t capture the person behind the disease. Through her art, Devan transforms MRI scans into deeply human, expressive works that reclaim identity, reveal vulnerability, and celebrate the beauty and mystery of living with illness.  Devan Stahl is an Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion at Baylor University and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Innovation, and Technology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics from St. Louis University and her M.Div. from Vanderbilt University. She specializes in disability theology, bioethics, and the visual arts within medicine. Dr. Stahl also volunteers clinical ethicist consultant for the Supportive and Palliative Care Team at Baylor, Scott, and White Hillcrest and has trained as a hospital chaplain. She is the author of, Disability’s Challenge to Theology: Genes, Eugenics, and the Metaphysics of Modern Medicine (Notre Dame Press), which develops a Christian response to genetic technologies using the insights of disability scholars. Dr. Stahl also hosts the popular podcast Bioethics for the People, which explores the work of bioethicists for a general audience. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Scan and Skin: Art as Ethical Innovation in Medicine | Devan Stahl | TEDxBaylor University

How do science and theology intersect to promote human flourishing? Baylor researchers Sarah Schnitker and Devan Stahl share how research collaborations bridge psychology, ethics, and faith to address real-world challenges. They discuss the origins of their partnership, a new collaborative human thriving research center at Baylor, and a project that equips scholars to integrate empirical research with theological inquiry.
.
.
.
.
MB01O0LP7XEZ67Z

Baylor Connections - Mind and Spirit: Ethical Foundations in Scientific Research

Chronic illness and disability can be transformative experiences within the human lifespan. Yet, these experiences can also reveal taken-for-granted norms concerning what it means to be human: What does it mean to have a “normal” or “healthy” body? What do we need to flourish? What is most essential about us? Who are we in relation to others? Such questions contain ontological (what is the nature of being?) and ethical (what should we do?) dimensions. In their own ways, both medicine and theology provide answers to these questions through systems of belief and practice.

Disability and Chronic Illness: A Significant Dialogue with Jens Zimmerman and Devan Stahl.

Medical imaging technologies can help diagnose and monitor patients’ diseases, but they do not capture the lived experience of illness. In her book, Devan Stahl shares her story of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis with the aid of magnetic resonance images (MRIs). Although clinically useful, Stahl did not want these images to be the primary way she or anyone else understood her disease or what it is like to live with MS. With the help of her printmaker sister, Darian Goldin Stahl, they were able to reframe these images into works of art. The result is an altogether different image of the ill body. Now, the Stahls open up their project to four additional scholars to help shed light on the meaning of illness and the impact medical imaging can have on our cultural imagination. Using their insights from the medical humanities, literature, visual culture, philosophy, and theology, the scholars in this volume advance the discourse of the ill body, adding interpretations and insights from their disciplinary fields.

See the book, Imaging and Imagining Illness: Becoming Whole in a Broken Body, here: http://wipfandstock.com/imaging-and-imagining-illness.html

Devan Stahl is Assistant Professor of Clinical Ethics in the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University (http://bioethics.msu.edu/73-people/299-stahl).

Follow Wipf and Stock Publishers at:
http://facebook.com/wipfandstock
http://twitter.com/wipfandstock
http://wipfandstock.com

Publish with us! http://snip.ly/bmq2c

Do you have a colleague, church, family member, or friend who would appreciate this content? Please share!

Shot and edited by: 
Luke Smith - https://www.facebook.com/lucheska1979

Imaging and Imagining Illness | The Devan Stahl Interview

Dr. Devan Stahl and Dr. Natalie Carnes sit down to discuss Stahl's 2022 publication, "Disability's Challenge to Theology: Genes, Eugenics, and the Metaphysics of Modern Medicine," as part of the 2023-2024 Readers Meet the Author Series presented by the Office of the Provost and Office of the President.

Readers Meet the Author featuring Dr.  Devan Stahl

Dr. Devan Stahl from Baylor University shares her rich research perspectives on the meanings of the body. Is the body simply a set of biological mechanisms? Whether you're in the medical field or religious studies, this conversation will offer you insights into the reality of the human body.

Dr. Stahl is a scholar of disability studies, bioethics, and the spirituality of the body. For her bio and publications, visit her faculty page -- https://www.baylor.edu/religion/index.php?id=962728

Here’s the link to the THP page on Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/The-Theo-Humanism-Project-112416613958428

Here’s the link to the theo-humanism course on edX (free to auditors) -- https://www.edx.org/course/theo-humanism-gods-ways-in-todays-world

Theo-Humanism Project (THP) interview 1 -- The Spirituality of the Body (with Dr. Devan Stahl)

Speakers: Devan Stahl, PhD, HEC-C, and Trevor M. Bibler, PhD, 
HEC-C.

How should clinicians respond to a patient’s or family’s hope for a “miracle”? What if the family’s hope for a miracle means continuing on a recovery-focused path even when clinicians believe recovery is not possible and further life-sustaining treatment is non-beneficial? This presentation will frame the discussion of miracle language and offer practical guidance on working with patients and families who invoke miracle language during a patient’s hospital stay. 

Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

-Classify and distinguish between the most common ways patients/families use miracle language.
-Describe the ethical tensions that emerge when families request that clinicians continue non-beneficial care in the hopes a miracle will occur. 
-Identify a set of strategies for productively engaging with patients/families who expect miracles.

Unpacking Bedside Bioethics is a quarterly professional development seminar series delivered by the Center for Bioethics. Speakers discuss foundational bioethics concepts, identify ethical dilemmas in clinical cases, & explain how to apply bioethical frameworks to resolve those dilemmas. This interprofessional series is designed for professionals who work in health related fields and health professions students. This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics.

Certificate of Attendance will not be given for watching the recording; it will only be given to those attending the Zoom webinar.

Devan Stahl, PhD, HEC-C,  is an Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion at Baylor University and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Innovation, and Technology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She specializes in theological bioethics, disability ethics, and the visual arts within medicine. Dr. Stahl volunteers as a clinical ethicist consultant for the Supportive and Palliative Care Team at Baylor, Scott, and White Hillcrest and has trained as a hospital chaplain. She also co-hosts the popular bioethics podcast, Bioethics for the People.

Trevor M. Bibler, PhD, HEC-C, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine and the Bioethics Program Director at Houston Methodist Hospital. He is a clinical ethicist with a background in religious studies. Dr. Bibler was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Bioethics at BCM and Houston Methodist Hospital from July 2014-March 2016. In 2014, he earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Vanderbilt University. He teaches a variety of audiences and writes on religion and medicine, methods in clinical ethics, and novel clinical technologies.

Select Inquiry Type