WSU Suspends Hate Group's Medical Courses; Coalition Says Make It Permanent

The fallout comes after Erin in the Morning reported that WSU extended medical credentials to content from SEGM—an SPLC-branded hate group.

WSU // Public Domain

A coalition of over 30 LGBTQ organizations and allied institutions in Washington and Idaho has launched a campaign calling for greater transparency and accountability after Washington State University allowed the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group, to offer continuing medical education (CME) credits to medical providers. Taking CMEs is essential for healthcare workers to retain their licensure.

An open letter was penned by Spectrum Center Spokane, and co-signed by groups like Spokane Pride, the Greater Seattle Business Association (Washington’s LGBTQ+ & Allied Chamber of Commerce), and local chapters of the NAACP and Planned Parenthood. This is in addition to the hundreds of people who have already written to WSU leadership about the fiasco as of Nov. 5, Spectrum told Erin in the Morning.

“Trans patients deserve better,” said KJ January, Spectrum’s co-executive director, in a press release. “For some licensed practitioners, continuing education is the only opportunity to learn about transgender healthcare. Accrediting a group that promotes anti-trans propaganda is a disservice to both the medical community and the patients they serve.”

The video series was offered under a joint providership between the university and SEGM.

“The harm of disinformation and bias in medical settings is not hypothetical,” the letter reads. Indeed, a 2022 joint survey from the KFF and the Washington Post found that nearly half of trans adults said they have had to interact with health care providers who know “not too much” or “nothing at all” about trans people. Nearly one in five trans adults reported they had been refused health care from a provider due to their gender identity.

“In a time when transgender individuals face elevated rates of suicidal ideation and barriers to competent care, accrediting courses that spread disinformation is not only unethical but also endangers lives,” the open letter continues.

Among the group’s demands is a mandatory gender-affirming care curriculum for medical students and “stronger review and oversight procedures to ensure all CME partnerships align with evidence-based medicine, professional ethics, and WSU’s own non-discrimination and equity policies.”

The letter comes after Erin in the Morning reported on the CME and SEGM’s SPLC-branded hate group status. Complaints were subsequently filed with the national Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The university temporarily suspended the group’s CME credentials as the ACCME conducts an inquiry to determine whether the content violated the organization’s requirements for scientific integrity and balance. It could also weigh in on whether the videos engaged in ACCME-outlined best practices for responsibly broaching “controversial” medical topics in CMEs.

Washington State University did not immediately provide further comment upon request from Erin in the Morning. SEGM, for its part, has contested the SPLC’s hate group label.

See the letter from SPECTRUM Center here: