Group sues med school over BIPOC directory that allegedly discriminates against white students
A group opposed to DEI and identity politics in medicine has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Do No Harm recently announced its lawsuit against the school for its BIPOC [black, indigenous, and people of color] Physicians Directory, claiming it discriminates against white students.
A group opposed to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and identity politics in medicine has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Washington School of Medicine.
On Wednesday, Do No Harm announced its lawsuit against the school for its BIPOC [black, indigenous, and people of color] Physicians Directory, stating that the institution is “restricting access to a physician networking directory based on race.”
”Do No Harm brings this action against the University of Washington School of Medicine, UW Medicine, and various University of Washington School of Medicine and UW Medicine officials for violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act,” the group writes in its Oct. 15 lawsuit.
”White physicians are ineligible to participate in the BIPOC Physicians Directory, even if they would prove to be a great resource for medical students, BIPOC or not,” the lawsuit continues. “Thus, Defendants deprive white physicians of the ‘[b]enefits’ of ‘[s]upport[ing] an important cause,’ ‘[e]xpanding [their] network,’ ‘[s]upporting [their] future colleagues,’ and ‘invest[ing] in [their] communities.’”
”Defendants should assist students in their efforts to network with experienced physicians and learn more about the profession that Defendants are preparing them to join,” the document adds. “But rather than offer networking resources to all students equally, Defendants have chosen racial stratification, creating and maintaining a special physician-networking directory available only to BIPOC students.”
In a Oct. 16 press release, Do No Harm Chairman Stanley Goldfarb called the directory “unethical and illegal.”
“Putting racial roadblocks on medical students making the critical career choice of a residency program and blocking white doctors from mentoring medical students is unethical and illegal,” Goldfarb said. “[The University of Washington School of Medicine] should be ensuring that its students are well-trained and best able to serve patients.”
The UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity website, which features the BIPOC Physicians Directory, features numerous DEI-based resources, including a staff directory displaying each member’s preferred pronouns, “Blackface Resources,” and a link to UW Medicine’s “Transgender & Gender Non-Binary Health Program.”
Founded in 2022, Do No Harm supports “making healthcare better for all – not undermining it in pursuit of a political agenda.” The organization is opposed to “divisive trends” such as DEI, “youth-focused gender ideology,” and anti-racism.
Campus Reform has contacted Do No Harm and the University of Washington for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.