The Federal Trade Commission and four red states are suing the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a nonprofit healthcare professional organization focused on gender dysphoria research and treatment, over its recommendations and practice guidelines supportive of gender-affirming care services for minors.
The suit was filed Wednesday in a Texas federal court, which resides in WPATH’s home state and has proven amenable to conservative legal efforts to curb these services nationwide.
The plaintiffs allege that WPATH has mischaracterized the medical evidence behind its recommendations—including by overstating gender-affirming care’s role in reducing suicide incidence and understating life-long medical side effects—thereby deceiving consumers into purchasing those services from members and other clinicians. Doing so is a violation of the FTC Act as well as consumer protection laws in the plaintiff states, the lawsuit reads.
“Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a Wednesday release. “For decades, the FTC has taken action against entities that make deceptive and unsubstantiated health-related claims. The complaint filed today reflects that same long-standing mandate: when an entity makes a claim about a medical treatment, the claim must be truthful, evidence-based and not misleading.”
The plaintiffs are requesting the court grant a permanent injunction as well as monetary relief.
WPATH, in a responding statement given to press, said the FTC “is not a medical provider and has no place interfering with the process of individualized medical decision-making."
“The FTC also does not have any jurisdiction over WPATH and its noncommercial speech. The state claims have similar factual and legal flaws," WPATH said.
The FTC and states’ complaint often cites public comments solicited by the regulator following a workshop held last summer on “deceptive marketing” in gender-affirming care for minors. Many are descriptions of the physical impacts of prior transitioning care from individuals who previously, but no longer, identified with their assigned gender at birth.
Comments supportive of WPATH standards received by the FTC are described in the lawsuit as evidence that the organization’s alleged mischaracterization of medical evidence has successfully “duped” consumers and providers. The lawsuit similarly credits the organization’s representations and recommendations “at least in part” for the “significant number of children being medically transitioned in recent years,” and notes that “most major insurance companies” now cover pediatric medical transition services because they base determination of medical necessity on the group’s standards of care.
Medical research cited by the plaintiffs to contradict WPATH’s recommendations include a November report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that concluded evidence in support of gender-affirming services for children is weak or inconclusive and recommended psychological interventions to minimize potential risks from other interventions. The lawsuit also points to international literature reviews such as the U.K.’s Cass Review.
Gender-affirming care services for minors are broadly supported by most major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Laws restricting the delivery of many of these services have been enacted in 26 states.
The lawsuit is the latest in a sweeping effort from the Trump administration and conservative allies to restrict pediatric gender-affirming care, which has included numerous subpoenas, a criminal probe and regulatory threats. While some of those have been hobbled by judges and opposed by numerous states, opponents of gender-affirming care have notched several concrete wins: dozens of pediatric providers who have voluntarily shuttered the services, compliance with information requests and high-profile settlements with Texas Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic that commit resources to detransitioning services.
The FTC and states’ lawsuit has the backing of the administration’s health leadership.
“I commend Chairman Ferguson and the FTC for taking decisive action against WPATH,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a release from the department applauding the case. “Medical organizations must follow the science, disclose conflicts and put patients first. Children deserve the highest standard of care, parents deserve honest information and the American people deserve accountability.”