Khatibi v. Medical Board of California

Pacific Legal Foundation filed suit on behalf of Dr. Azadeh Khatibi, Dr. Marilyn Singleton, and Do No Harm challenging California’s mandatory implicit bias training for physicians.

In 2019, California lawmakers passed a chilling new mandate known as AB 241. In a purported effort to reduce healthcare disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, the law requires that all continuing medical education (CME) courses involving direct patient care include implicit bias training—regardless of who teaches the course or what is taught.

Injecting race and other immutable characteristics into every training also risks undermining patient-doctor relationships by encouraging resentment and distrust. Physicians should base medical care on each patient’s individual situation and condition. California’s required “implicit bias” training does the opposite. It teaches doctors to be concerned about race when giving medical advice to their patients.