Do No Harm v. National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians

Docket No.
3:24-cv-00011
District Court
Mississippi Southern

Goal

  • Declaration that a race-based diversity scholarship is unconstitutional
  • Enjoin defendants from efforts to promote racial diversity

Issues

Litigation Content

Why This Matters: 

The plaintiff alleges that a health association’s scholarship program that seeks to diversify its membership by awarding scholarships to students of color violates Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Offering diversity scholarships helps to eliminate some barriers of entry for students and promotes diversity in the healthcare profession.

Potential Impact:

Limiting the ability of health professions to encourage recruitment of a diverse workforce could continue to hamper efforts to diversify such workforce, ultimately negatively impacting patient care and public health, especially for racial and ethnic minorities.