30th Annual Conference on Bioethics
Ethics, Politics, and Medicine: Navigating Ethical Challenges in an Increasingly Divided Society
Four Points by Sheraton Detroit Novi
27003 S Karevich Dr
Novi, MI 48377
Saturday, November 14, 2026
8:30 am - 3:00 pm EST
FREE Registration for Active MSMS Members
Approved for 5.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
Sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation
When registering be sure to select in-person or virtual attendance
To learn about our conference exhibitors click here
Join us for the 2026 MSMS Conference on Bioethics, the 30th annual meeting, which takes up the ethical questions physicians face when the care of individual patients is shaped by political conflict. This year's theme, "Ethics, Politics, and Medicine: Navigating Ethical Challenges in an Increasingly Divided Society," addresses immigration enforcement in the clinical setting, disagreement about which treatments are owed to patients who will not recover, the religious identity of hospitals after merger, and what Michigan law requires when a patient cannot decide.
8:30 – 8:45 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mark Navin, PhD, HEC-C, Professor and Chair of Philosophy, Oakland University; Lecturer, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine; Clinical Ethicist at Corewell Health.
8:45 – 9:45 am
Keynote: I Lift My Lamp - Healthcare's Moral Center in a Time of Mass Deportation
Mark Kuczewski, PhD, HEC-C, The Fr. Michael I. English, SJ, Professor of Medical Ethics, Director, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
9:45 - 10:30 am
Evolving Models of Care in Trisomy 13 and 18: From Presumptive Futility to Informed Possibility
Naomi T. Laventhal, MD, MA, HEC-C, FAAP, Charles Neil Weller Children's Development Research Professor; Clinical Professor, Pediatrice; Division Director, Pediatric Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Associate Chair Career Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan School of Medicine
10:30 – 10:45 am
Break w/exhibitors
10:45 – 11:45 am
Title TBD
Sanford J Mall, JD, CELA, CAP, Mall Malisow & Cooney, PC
11:45 am – 12:00 pm
Break w/exhibitors
12:00 - 1:00 pm
lunch with Student Rapid Fire Paper Session
1:00 - 1:45 pm
When Mission Meets Merger: Preserving Catholic Health Care's Moral Division in Diverse Organizations
Emily Trancik, PhD, Director, Ethics Integration, Henry Ford Health
1:45 – 2:00 pm
Break w/exhibitors
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Creating and Promoting a System-Level Non-Beneficial Treatment Policy (e.g., unilateral DNR orders)
Abram Brummett, PhD, HEC-C, Assistant Professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
3:00 pm
Closing Remarks
All active MSMS members receive FREE CME, click here to join MSMS.
Registration Fees:
Members - FREE
Non-members - $100
Students and Residents - FREE
Statement of Accreditation:
The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement:
The MSMS designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.