Derek Estes

Will there be disabilities in heaven? Many Christians believe there will not, with some scholars marshalling the work of Thomas Aquinas in support of their view. These scholars characterize Aquinas as believing that disabilities make those who have them intrinsically worse off, and since the resurrected bodies of the saints will be perfected, all disabilities will be eliminated in heaven. In this paper, I argue this view is mistaken. That is, I argue both that there will be disabilities in heaven and also that the work of Thomas Aquinas gives reason to think so. Contrary to how some scholars interpret him, I argue Aquinas believes that disabilities sometimes make a person more perfect.

The principle of respect for autonomy often dominates the bioethical discourse. Yet despite its prominence, the exact contours are not always well defined. Widespread disagreement about the nature of autonomy has led some to conclude that autonomy is hopelessly vague and therefore ought to be abandoned in contemporary bioethics. Despite calls to move beyond it, autonomy remains at the center of bioethical reflection. The challenge, then, if autonomy is to function as a bedrock of contemporary bioethics, is to define more clearly the shape of autonomy, to mark more precisely its conceptual boundaries, and to delineate more carefully how best autonomy is put into practice in medical ethics. In this article, I raise questions about the ways autonomy is used in theory, as well as the ways that it is operationalized in practice.