A legal non-profit conservative organization promised to sue any medical school across the nation which does not abide by the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in the admissions process.
The non-profit organization, Liberty Justice Center, located in Chicago, Illinois, has taken action to notify more than 150 medical schools that they must “immediately cease any and all policies, practices, programs, or procedures” which may contain a racial component in the admissions process, according to a statement from the organization on Thursday.
On June 29, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 they were blocking the use of affirmative action programs in two lawsuits brought against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC), effectively ending the use of racial consideration in the admissions process for all universities.
“In accordance with the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., your medical school must immediately cease any and all policies, practices, programs, or procedures that include a racial component,” the organization wrote in a letter addressed to “medical school deans” throughout the country.
Given the recent #SCOTUS #AffirmativeAction decision, it's imperative that medical schools follow the law and discontinue race-based admissions. We're working to make sure that happens: https://t.co/S7L6IX6MGh pic.twitter.com/UMYfjR0Ej3
— Liberty Justice Center (@LJCenter) July 7, 2023
The letter continues to explain that policies such as “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) policies” are included in affirmative action programs, according to the letter.
“Consequently, to the extent your medical school fails to immediately comply with the Supreme Court’s recent decision, Liberty Justice Center will actively engage in strategic litigation to vindicate the fundamental constitutional rights of those individuals whose rights have been violated,” the letter read.
Jacob Huebert, the President of Liberty Justice Center said in the statement, “Medical schools have a moral obligation to swiftly comply with the law and remove these discriminatory practices.”
Huebert stressed that “merit and skill” should be the key factors in the medical industry when deciding which applicants to approve.
America First Legal, another conservative non-profit legal group, has also issued letters to 150 medical schools in the nation.
In two letters addressed to the deans of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the medical schools are called upon to end “all forms of race, national origin, and sex” policies and programs in the student admissions and hiring process for faculty.
IJR reached out to Liberty Justice Center for a statement but did not receive a response back.