Do No Harm filed Lawsuit against Health Affairs scholarship alleging discrimination on the basis of race

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Sep 08, 2022, 11:26 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Do No Harm filed a lawsuit, on behalf of its members, against Project Hope and its publication Health Affairs in Washington D.C.'s United States District Court on September 6^th for running a race-segregated health journal fellowship that excludes white applicants.

Health Affairs' Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees gives mentorship and publication opportunities for health-policy scholars.

According to the Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees' website, anyone interested in applying for the fellowship must identify as "American Indian/Alaskan Native, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander."

"Do No Harm is opposed to discrimination in all of its manifestations," said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm. "To propose a fellowship program whose key requirement is skin color is blatant discrimination. If the goal is to promote students with less opportunity, then promote such students without racial stipulations. We have civil rights laws in this nation to prevent this sort of racialism and this lawsuit helps promote those laws."

Health Affairs, which receives federal funding, is being sued for violating the following federal and D.C. state laws:

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act
D.C. Human Rights Law D.C. Code §2-1402.11(a)(4)(A)
D.C. Human Rights Law D.C. Code §2-1402.11(a)(4)(B)

Do No Harm is calling for Health Affairs to end its discrimination against white applicants by establishing new selection criteria for the fellowship that is race-neutral.

Do No Harm works to protect the healthcare industry and individual practitioners against divisive ideologies and practices. For more information about the organization, visit its website at www.donoharmmedicine.org.

SOURCE Do No Harm