Tennessee Eliminates Racial Quotas From Medical Licensing Boards Following Do No Harm Lawsuit

Fairness and merit triumph in Tennessee.

In April, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed HB 1237 and SB 1084 to remove racial quotas from medical licensing boards after Do No Harm filed two federal lawsuits challenging the quotas’ constitutionality. 

In response to the enactment of these laws, Do No Harm voluntarily dismissed its lawsuits against the state.

Tennessee medical practitioners are regulated by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, while the state’s Board of Chiropractic Examiners oversees chiropractors.

In 2024, Do No Harm (represented by Pacific Legal Foundation) filed two federal lawsuits challenging Tennessee’s requirement that the governor consider race when deciding who can serve on these boards. The lawsuits argued that Tennessee’s racial quotas violated the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee.

Following our lawsuit, Tennessee’s lawmakers took action and removed these unconstitutional and discriminatory requirements.

Last month, Arkansas also elected to remove race and gender quotas from state boards and commissions. 

That decision was prompted in part by Do No Harm’s federal lawsuit challenging an Arkansas law that required racial quotas for certain government bodies.

No government official should use an individual’s race or ethnicity to determine who gets the opportunity to serve the public. 

Treating people differently on the basis of race violates the notion of equality before the law.