Washington State Universitys Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine has given its seal of approval to a series of continuing medical education (CME) courses developed and published the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), a group designated as an anti-trans hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center.The seven SEGM courses are available to view for free on the organizations website, the trans news website Erin in the Morning noted. An Accreditation Statement on the webpage indicates that the courses were planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine (WSU) and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM). Related Trans health care skeptics lost a key ally now theyre having a meltdown A separate note, however, indicates that the content which appears to be based around videos of lectures and panels from the groups October 2023 conference is currently not available on the WSU site.According to a December 2023 SPLC report, SEGM is part of a network of more than 60 groups that have, in recent years, weaponized pseudoscience to manipulate public opinion and advance legislation and legal action targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Since its founding in 2020, the report notes, members of SEGM have undertaken a global media and public policy blitz to challenge the affirming care model [for treating minors experiencing gender dysphoria], advocate against gender-affirming care, and lend scientific credibility to legal claims against LGBTQ+ civil rights.The groups members played a role in passing Idahos H.B. 509, which denied trans people the ability to update their birth certificates, and in efforts to ban gender-affirming care in Florida and Texas. SEGM members also served as advisors on the Cass Review, a widely criticized 2024 report commissioned by the U.K.s National Health Service that claimed that there is insufficient evidence about the risks and benefits of social transitioning, puberty blockers, and hormone replacement therapy for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.In January 2024, SPLC officially designated SEGM an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.Theyre an issue group that has a position on transgender health care whatever they do serves that particular agenda, Evan Urquhart, a science journalist and founder of Assigned Media, told Erin in the Morning. Its not about an openness to evidence in the spirit of scientific exploration; they advocate against gender-affirming care, using misinformation.In August, Gordon Guyatt, a distinguished professor of medicine at McMaster University in Canada who had previously co-authored SEGMs reviews of the evidence base for transgender health care, joined several colleagues in criticizing the group for misapplying standards he pioneered to justify bans on gender-affirming care. In a recent Mother Jones report, Guyatt recalled telling people affiliated with SEGM that the group was not evidence-based. WSU spokesperson Pam Scott told Erin in the Morning that the university had not created SEGMs CME content, nor had it paid the group. Scott reiterated that the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine acted as an accreditor, through its Continuing Medical Education (CME) program and noted that accreditation indicates that the courses met ACCMEs requirements for scientific balance and educational integrity. However, she noted that inclusion of the SEGM content in WSUs CME offerings does not represent an endorsement of the groups views.But, as Erin in the Mornings S. Baum notes, WSUs accreditation lends the appearance of legitimacy to SEGMs content. Well-meaning providers who want to enhance their practice with trans-competent care may be misdirected to SEGM propaganda instead of evidence-based best practices, Baum writes.ACCME president Dr. Graham McMahon told the outlet that while the organization is not in a position to comment publicly on an activity that we have not (yet) reviewed or audited for compliance, the description of SEGM as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group raises questions that appear appropriate for an inquiry.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.