FAQs
Based on inquiries we have received from members and visitors to our website.
IDENTITY POLITICS
What is Critical Race Theory?
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a divisive ideology that attributes all societal problems to racism. It holds that institutions are systemically racist and that individuals are inherently biased, while demanding that society must be fundamentally transformed as a result. It replaces the concept of “equality” with “equity,” which means that every racial and gender group should have the exact same social and economic outcomes, even if that requires treating people unequally.
In the context of healthcare, CRT holds that bias on the part of healthcare professionals is to blame for different health outcomes among racial and gender groups. It proposes to remedy this reality by forcing medical professionals to provide different levels of care to different populations. This includes offering and denying treatments on the basis of race, including potentially life-or-death decisions. CRT-inspired policies and programs may violate federal law and the United States Constitution.
What is anti-racism?
Anti-racism, which is closely related to Critical Race Theory, holds that racial discrimination is praiseworthy and necessary. It seeks to overcome different outcomes among racial and gender groups by actively discriminating in favor of some people and against others. Anti-racism is fundamentally at odds with the American principles of equal treatment under the law and equal justice for all.
Within healthcare, anti-racism is making race and gender a determining factor in who gets certain medical treatments. That includes the denial of treatments for patients based on their skin color. It is also turning medical students and professionals into political activists by training them to care more about identity politics than caring for individual patients.
Are physicians biased/Is healthcare systemically racist?
There is no credible evidence that physicians are biased, or healthcare is systemically racist. In fact, the psychological test that is commonly used to prove such claims, the Implicit Association Test, has been thoroughly repudiated. Even its creators have acknowledged its shortcomings.
Unfortunately, this fact has not stopped activists and ideologues from trying to transform healthcare along anti-racist lines, hurting patients and physicians in the process. Critical Race Theory is ultimately making health more biased and discriminatory, not less.
ACADEMIA
What’s happening in medical schools?
Medical schools are being infiltrated by anti-racist activists. They are demanding that future physicians be trained to combat injustice and racism instead of caring for the unique medical needs of each individual patient.
Many of America’s top medical schools have made anti-racism a core part of their curriculum, while other institutions are creating anti-racist curricula to be implemented at schools nationwide. This divisive campaign will only lead to discrimination in healthcare, which is bad for patients. It will also hurt patient health and well-being by lowering standards for medical school and professional certification.
How do I find a “non-woke” medical school or healthcare education program?
Many people contact Do No Harm to inquire about a list of “non-woke” medical schools or universities. Since our launch, we have been collecting information on numerous institutions of higher learning that have healthcare education programs, thanks to submissions from our members and concerned individuals.
Please start by reviewing this resource for important tips to consider when looking for a medical school.
Here are some additional steps for finding information on particular schools:
- Start in our Newsroom.
- From the navigator on the left-had side of the screen, select the state where the school you are interested in is located.
3. Choose the school from the list. (If you don’t see a particular school listed, it is because we have not yet received any information about that school.)
What’s happening in medical research?
Medical journals and scholarship are increasingly dominated by Critical Race Theory and anti-racism. The National Library of Medicine has more than 2,700 recent papers on “racism and medicine,” which generally purport to show that physicians are biased and provide worse care to specific racial and gender groups.
Such scholarship is broadly faulty, and its conclusions are scientifically unsupported. It also crowds out real medical scholarship, stifling the innovation and insights that physicians need to improve patient health.
What is the Cass Review?
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service commissioned a Policy Working Group in 2020 to review the evidence surrounding puberty blockers and hormone treatment for children experiencing gender dysphoria and provide recommendations. In 2024, after four years of research, British pediatrician Hillary Cass published a final report which became the largest systematic review of gender-affirming care ever.
Top findings:
- There is no way to know which children affected by gender dysphoria will maintain a lasting transgender identity
- There is no high-quality evidence for puberty blockers or hormone treatment
- There is no convincing evidence that these medical treatments reduce the risk of suicide in patients suffering gender distress
- Children suffering from gender dysphoria should be treated holistically, prioritizing psychotherapy and screening for neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions
Read our analysis here.
HEALTHCARE
What’s happening in hospitals and doctors’ offices?
We have seen examples of healthcare organizations making race a determining factor in who gets what type of medical treatments, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Critical Race Theory and anti-racism become more embedded in healthcare, medical professionals will be forced to provide different levels of care to people of different racial and gender groups. Left unchallenged, identity politics will determine what care individual patients receive, regardless of their unique medical needs.
How do I find a “non-woke” doctor?
We are often asked for a list of “non-woke” healthcare providers or assistance in locating a physician who does not subscribe to ideological concepts. Do No Harm does not maintain this type of list. Individuals are encouraged to ask questions about the issues that are important to them when seeking a healthcare provider.
No Referrals or Individualized Assistance
Do No Harm is not a medical service provider or agency and does not provide medical, mental health, or social service referrals. Do No Harm provides resources that are generally available to members of the public but does not provide individualized referrals or assistance and does not promote or endorse particular care providers. While Do No Harm attempts to direct the public to information about relevant resources, it is not equipped to help individuals with case work and does not provide any referrals.
POLICY & LEGISLATION
DEI in Healthcare: What’s happening in state and federal policy?
Some state and federal policymakers are embedding anti-racism into healthcare by requiring anti-racist training taking race into account when determining who gets treatments. The federal government is even paying doctors to implement anti-racist policies.
But other policymakers are fighting back. Several states have passed legislation to prohibit discriminatory DEI offices, policies, and programs in public universities. Next, policymakers can prohibit government contracts from going to organizations that provide or require such discriminatory training.
Pediatric Gender Medicine: What’s happening in state and federal policy?
As of June 2024, a total of 25 states have passed laws to significantly limit ‘gender-affirming care’ for minors. Some legislatures and policymakers have passed or are seriously considering other reforms like more public school transparency, strengthened enforcement measures, a prohibition on public funding for aggressive gender treatments for minors, and a detransitioners’ bill of rights.
Such a bill of rights would ensure insurance coverage reciprocity for transition and detransition procedures, streamlined legal processes for restoring government documentation, and a defense of traditional ‘talk therapy’ for minors.
