A group of medical professionals has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that some appointments to a Louisiana medical board amount to racial quotas in violation of the Constitution’s equal protection clause and the 14th Amendment.
The nonprofit group Do No Harm, which is made up of more than 6,000 doctors, filed the lawsuit Jan. 4 in the Western District of Louisiana. The complaint argues that the governor is unconstitutionally bound by state law to appoint at least two members of the 10-person board from racial minority groups.
“Outside of the bona fide qualifications that the statute mandates for board positions (such as residency requirements), in appointing members to the board, the governor must consider a factor entirely outside the control of the potential board members – their race,” the lawsuit states. “Such blatant racial discrimination against individuals who could sit on Louisiana’s Board of Medical Examiners serves no legitimate government purpose. It is demeaning and unconstitutional.”
The governor appoints the board members based on nominations from a number of medical, health sciences groups, physician groups and the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the appointments are subject to confirmation by the state Senate.
“The legislative record contains no discussion of racial discrimination , statistics or any other alleged governmental interest that formed the basis for the racial mandate for appointments to the board,” the complaint says.
Do No Harm argues that it has physician and consumer members who are ready and able to be appointed to the Louisiana board if the racial mandate is enjoined by the court. The medical board includes one consumer member.
“The racial mandate prevents these members from equal consideration for appointment to the board, “ the lawsuit states.
Laura D’Agostino, lead attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing Do No Harm, said the lawsuit is similar to other cases taken up by the foundation. Professional regulations in Louisiana and other states have precluded Black residents such as Ursula Newell-Davis from starting a business due to a state government determination that Newell-Davis’ professional services were not needed.
“Indeed, the racial quota at issue in our case is symptomatic of a nationwide trend of legislatures subjectively determining the concept of diversity without regard to the Constitution or to the high bar that must be met when deploying racial classifications,” D’Agostino said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record.
The foundation recently won a case in Iowa that challenged a gender quota forcing the governor to use “gender balancing” when making appointments to a judicial nominating commission, she said.
“This is truly an opportunity for legislators to engage in a proactive campaign to speak with their constituents and find creative ways to expand outreach and streamline administrative barriers,” D’Agostino said. She added that professional boards could work to ensure openings are widely publicized and correct a lack of transparency in the appointment process as ways to get people of more diverse backgrounds to seek posts on the medical board.
“PLF is working to defeat race and sex board quotas in Louisiana and everywhere else the unconstitutional practice is allowed,” the foundation said in a news release.