Anti-Trans Hate Group Genspect Loses Its CME Certification, Michigan State Medical Society Says
The for-credit lessons included a Moms for Liberty-sponsored panel as well as a lecture from a renowned anti-trans activist on how to politically organize against “gender ideology.”
Following inquiries from Erin in the Morning, the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) told members that it has severed ties with Great Lakes Learning—a group that had been using continuing medical education, or CME, to push pseudoscientific and anti-trans narratives in joint providership with Genspect, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group.
“The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) did not review or approve the Genspect educational activity,” an official from the group said in an email to a member, which was shared with Erin in the Morning through Equality Michigan, an LGBTQ advocacy group, earlier this month. At least one provider within MSMS also directly confirmed with Erin in the Morning that they had received a similar letter.
“The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) recognizes MSMS as an intra-state accredited provider who accredits other Michigan-based organizations to provide CME,” the message said. “In this case, MSMS accredited MNI Great Lakes Echo. MNI Great Lakes Echo approved this activity from Genspect through CME joint providership.”
The email indicates Great Lakes lost its accredited status after Erin in the Morning reached out. “MSMS consulted with the ACCME last week to review the accreditation status of MNI Great Lakes Echo,” the letter says—sent shortly after Erin in the Morning’s Nov. 10 article on the matter was published. “It was determined MNI Great Lakes Echo is no longer eligible for CME accreditation through MSMS and was notified last week.”
The email did not say why Great Lakes lost their accreditation, but it seems to have happened after Erin in the Morning reached out to Great Lakes, Genspect, the ACCME, and the MSMS earlier this month in regards to the CME videos. The for-credit lessons included a Moms for Liberty-sponsored panel that argued transness is a social contagion, as well as a lecture from a renowned anti-trans activist on how to politically organize against “gender ideology.”
Neither the MSMS, Great Lakes nor ACCME have publicly indicated what this means for Genspect’s courses—for example, whether their current offerings are now retroactively stripped of their CME credentials, or whether doctors who received CME credits through the program were notified of the changes. As of Nov. 21, the videos remain on Genspect’s website apparently touting ACCME credentials. (It is not immediately clear why Genspect refers to its joint providership body as “Great Lakes Learning, LLC” when the ACCME-accredited group is “MNI Great Lakes Echo, LLC.” They appear to be used interchangeably by Great Lakes.)
Meanwhile, Great Lakes is still listed on the ACCME’s database through the joint providership program.
While “controversial” subjects may be discussed in CME courses—indeed, science is driven by debate, which is encouraged by the ACCME—national CME guidelines state the courses must still meet baseline standards of scientific validity and balance.
Genspect, for its part, has denounced its designation as a pseudoscientific hate group, and says it simply strives for “evidence-based” treatment for gender dysphoria.
None of the groups responded on the record to further inquiries for this piece; in fact, after Erin in the Morning initially reached out to Great Lakes, its website vanished from the internet.
Then, when Erin in the Morning called the phone number that had been listed on the now-defunct Great Lakes website, it led to a voice mailbox that made no reference to Great Lakes. Instead, it promoted several Christian medical initiatives including “The God Prescription”—a book on the healing powers of Jesus Christ penned by neurosurgeon Dr. Avery Jackson, who is also listed as the operator of MNI Great Lakes ECHO on Michigan’s business registry.
“God bless you,” the voice message says. “And remember God wants you whole in body, spirit and mind.”
This isn’t the first time that for-credit CME courses tied to SPLC-branded anti-trans hate groups have been uncovered. In October, the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine had its CME courses suspended after Erin in the Morning reporting revealed that the medical school at Washington State University had greenlit CME content from the hate group.
SEGM, like Genspect, rejects its “hate group” classification.
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Hurray! Equality Michigan wins out.
Thank you for shining a light.