AN INTRODUCTION TO SEASONED POLITICAL LOBBYING: DO NO HARM (DNH)

Do No Harm was founded in 2022 by Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a nephrologist by clinical training and former associate dean at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The DNH organization stylizes itself as believing “in making healthcare better for all – not undermining it in pursuit of a political agenda,” but does not publish studies to refute studies they disagree with (instead electing to write critical “reports”[1] on the studies), has only five medical professionals on the core staff of 19, and does not run a clinic; they function only as a political lobbyist group.

Goldfarb himself argues that he is following a long tradition, in which the physician treats only the body and does not otherwise concern himself with the outside world. In his outrage[2] over being dismissed from his post at the nephrologist periodical UpToDate, he states, “medical students are supposed to treat illnesses, not diagnose, much less cure, what ails society.” With this line of thought, the vaccination pioneer Edward Jenner wouldn’t have pioneered the first smallpox vaccine, and the father of epidemiology, physician John Snow, would never have traced cholera outbreaks to polluted water. After all, what ails society cannot be of interest to a physician, who must limit himself entirely to the body.

Since the creation of DNH was triggered by Goldfarb’s dismissals because of his disagreements with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, their chief occupation is in the fight against DEI in medical schools. Having spent the last few years filing smaller lawsuits, Do No Harm’s number of lawsuits has seen an increase[3] since the November 2024 election. In one instance, as of January 2025, Do No Harm is working with the conservative group Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins University Medical School, where they have flipped civil rights language (i.e. that no individual should be excluded on the basis on gender and skin color) to argue that white men are being excluded from programs[4] and admissions due to their skin color and gender. The disingenuous language disregards that the largest percentage of medical school graduates, as published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, are white (54.6%)[5] and male (52.1%)[6].

While Do No Harm prides itself on leading the fight against DEI in medical schools and being a “national association of medical professionals combating the attack on our healthcare system from woke activists,” they are not against combatting scientific evidence and study if it doesn’t meet their narrow viewbox for reality. Their secondary cause celebre is the fight against the “evils” of diverse gender identities; despite the fact that almost every single[7] organization of medical professionals, including but not limited to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the American College of Physicians support transgender health care and gender affirmation.   Despite DNH’s page[8] on the “dangerous ideology” of gender affirming care, which argues that in affirming care “[u]nderlying mental health problems are usually not addressed,” the American Psychiatric Association expressly supports gender affirming care and gender non-conforming individuals.

Do No Harm claims activists “shut down debate”[9] but they have used their clout as an “organization of concerned physicians” to pen and distribute anti-trans legislation across the country. A report from 2023[10] found that “Lawmakers in Montana, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and West Virginia have all used wording nearly identical to the model legislation put forth by Do No Harm.” n a split from typical conservative organizations, Do Not Harm argues that the government needs to be more involved in the day-to-day lives of its citizens; in a 2024 article by Politico[11], Goldfarb specifically says that children and adults “don’t understand the lifetime implications of some of these treatments. The government has to step in.”

Do No Harm exists as a series of contraditions: run by a nephrologist yet keenly obsessed with gender health care, celebrating themselves as freeing health care from a political agenda yet writing the drafts for state laws, dedicated to defending others against racism allegations[12] yet not employing a single person of color[13]. They’ll be worth monitoring in the coming months to see how they claim the Hippocratic Oath as a license to be hypocritical.