The University of Washington is renaming its ‘BIPOC Physicians Directory’ and advertising its availability to all races to resolve the lawsuit.

The University of Washington’s medical school is clarifying that a professional networking tool is available to white physicians after facing a legal challenge for alleged racial discrimination.

The University of Washington School of Medicine is renaming its “BIPOC Physicians Directory” and advertising its availability to all races to resolve a lawsuit from Do No Harm, a medical watchdog opposed to identity politics in medicine, National Review has learned.

The program will be called the “MD Connections Directory” and the medical school’s website states that it is “open to all” especially, “first generation” and “other students who seek connections with physicians and identities similar to their own, court papers show. UW Medical School tweaked certain sections of the website to make clear that all medical students and physicians are eligible for the program.

Both parties will be seeking to dismiss Do No Harm’s lawsuit, first reported by NR in October, now that the database is open to all students and physicians seeking to make use of it. Do No Harm originally filed a legal challenge in federal court accusing UW Medical School of violating the 14th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Affordable Care Act.

“This is a win for University of Washington’s medical students, the medical community, and the crucial principle of equality,” said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman of Do No Harm.

“We are pleased that UWSOM responded to our lawsuit by removing its discriminatory policies that barred certain students from career opportunities on the basis of race. We will continue to speak out and take legal action against any discriminatory programs that undermine the integrity of our medical system.”

UW Medical School declined to comment.

The lawsuit said an unnamed white physician who is a member of Do No Harm suffered as a result of being barred from the old version of the networking database. The database allows medical students to connect with physicians and ask them career-oriented questions and gain valuable guidance.

“BIPOC,” a popular progressive acronym for “black, indigenous, people of color,” excludes white demographic groups from its list of ethnicities. Initiatives for “BIPOC” people are typically part of a broader diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda among progressives spread throughout American institutions.

Conservatives have expended significant legal resources and political capital in fighting back against the outgrowth of DEI in educational institutions, government, corporations, and elsewhere. Most notably, the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that race-based college admissions programs are illegal under the 14th Amendment, dramatically altering the legal landscape surrounding DEI.