First appeared on FOX: More than 50 conservative groups are urging the House of Representatives to vote on a bill that would block medical schools from considering diversity as a factor in admissions.
“Prioritizing education’s political and social ideologies, which are at the heart of DEI, to the exclusion or sacrifice of academic excellence will have life-or-death consequences for millions of patients,” they argued. “This bill takes an important first step toward redirecting medical education toward its noble, life-saving mission.”
A total of 52 groups, including Do No Harm, Tea Party Patriots Action, Heritage Action and Physicians for Reform, sent a letter this week to House Education and Labor Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, RN, urging her to move the bill forward in her committee and to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, to bring the bill to the full House.
Rep. Greg Murphy (R-OH) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) introduced the EDUCATE Act in March. The bill is co-sponsored by 45 Republicans in the House.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) (Getty Images)
Murphy is the only active surgeon general in Congress.
He said the bill would “require medical schools and accrediting institutions to have racially inclusive admissions procedures and prohibit coercion of students who hold particular political views.”
“Diversity strengthens health care, but it’s not achieved through exclusionary practices,” Murphy said when introducing the bill.
The conservative groups, who led the new letter to Johnson and Fox, said that an excessive emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in medical school education “detracts from the quality of the health professionals we produce and undermines the importance of scientific expertise and patient care.”
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Rep. Greg Murphy (RN.C.) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
“Swift action can restore trust in the health professions and mitigate the negative effects of DEI through a renewed focus on academic and professional excellence in medical schools, hospitals, clinics and physician offices across the country,” the letter said.
Do No Harm surveyed the top 50 medical schools and found that 36 schools asked applicants about their opinions and experiences regarding DEI, with the report explaining that “many” schools “overtly” asked applicants if they agreed with racist remarks.
Critics of DEI in medical schools argue that it could lead to top candidates being rejected or discouraged from applying because of their race, and they express concern that DEI could erode the scientific foundations on which such an education is based.
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But progressive advocates believe DEI is crucial for training health care professionals from diverse backgrounds so they can address a broader range of issues.
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For example, the Association of American Medical Colleges asserts on its website that “research shows that a diverse and inclusive biomedical research workforce that includes people from historically excluded and underrepresented groups is essential to assemble the broad range of perspectives needed to identify and solve complex scientific problems of today and into the future.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson and Fox for comment on the letter.
