Do No Harm v. Nemours Children’s Health

On July 28, 2026, Do No Harm filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR) against Nemours Children’s Health for operating a racially discriminatory pediatric training program for fourth-year medical students. The complaint calls on HHS-OCR to investigate the program’s preference for “underrepresented” racial groups and find a violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.  

Nemours Children’s Health “is one of the largest integrated pediatric health systems in the country.” The organization is supported by sizeable federal funding and trains nearly 2,500 medical students, residents, and fellows each year.  

Prioritizing its mission to ensure “health equity and inclusion,” Nemours operates a “Visiting Student Scholar Program” that offers fourth-year medical students clinical and educational opportunities, professional mentorship, and a competitive stipend. The program limits applicants to medical students who are “underrepresented in medicine,” ensuring the eligibility of only those individuals belonging to the “racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, [and] ability” classes that Nemours prefers.  

Merit, academic excellence, and a commitment to serving patients must be the determinants when Nemours selects the most qualified students for programs impacting the care of this nation’s children. 

The United States Supreme Court has been clear that efforts to purportedly ensure racial diversity or balance disparities provide no justification for race-based programs under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such acts of discrimination are in direct violation of both Title VI and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.