Press Release

Do No Harm Files Federal Complaint Against Johns Hopkins for Discriminating Against Medical Students

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • January 16, 2025
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

RICHMOND, VA; January 16, 2025 – Do No Harm and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a federal complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights against Johns Hopkins University for discriminating against medical students on the basis of race and sex.

Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine, a top-ranking medical school that relies on taxpayer funding, offers certain education programs for third and fourth-year medical students, where they gain valuable hands-on experience across a variety of medical disciplines.

However, the university restricts access to these programs to medical students from racial groups deemed to be “underrepresented” in medicine.

These discriminatory programs are aligned with Johns Hopkins’ mission to prioritize race and “increase diverse representation.” For these reasons, Do No Harm and WILL have asked the HHS to investigate the university for violating the Affordable Care Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Johns Hopkins, an institution that promulgated an absurdly offensive and racist definition of privilege, is also responsible for racially discriminatory programs,” said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman of Do No Harm. “We are filing these Office for Civil Rights complaints to bring Johns Hopkins’ discrimination to light. Johns Hopkins should drop all unlawful racial requirements for programs and focus on providing the best education possible to future medical professionals.”

“America’s hospitals and medical training institutions face a reckoning,” said Cara Tolliver, Associate Counsel at WILL. “The healthcare system cannot function effectively when healthcare education opportunities and experiences are reserved for certain individuals based on race and factors other than merit. Healthcare organizations that continue to ignore long-established anti-discrimination laws may soon find the new Trump-Vance Administration taking a firm stance.”

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into Johns Hopkins School of Medicine over a discriminatory elective program in response to a complaint filed by a Do No Harm senior fellow. Additionally, Do No Harm has called for the university to close its DEI department after the chief diversity officer claimed that all whites, heterosexuals, and Christians are privileged – that officer has since resigned.

Do No Harm, established in April 2022, has rapidly gained recognition and made significant strides in its mission to safeguard healthcare from ideological threats. With over 15,000 members, including doctors, nurses, physicians, and concerned citizens across all 50 states and 14 countries, DNH has achieved over 10,000 media hits in top-tier publications and garnered widespread attention through numerous broadcast news appearances.