The Federal Trade Commission along with four states on Wednesday sued a leading transgender health organization, arguing the group misled parents and used unproven science to promote pediatric medical transition services.
The FTC along with Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas filed a suit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, saying the group made misleading recommendations about the medical necessity, safety and effectiveness of treatments like puberty blockers, hormones, and sex change surgeries.
“Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services," said Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson in a statement.
Joe Simonson, Director of Public Affairs at the Federal Trade Commission, said in a media call on Wednesday that "WPATH made these deceptive claims and deemed nearly all medical transition services as ‘medically necessary’ specifically to benefit and profit its members."
Simonson said the WPATH’s guidance has led most major insurance companies to pay for pediatric medical transition services.
In a statement to Scripps News, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health defended itself from the FTC’s latest move, saying “The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is not a medical provider and has no place interfering with the process of individualized medical decision-making and. The FTC also does not have any jurisdiction over WPATH and its noncommercial speech. The state claims have similar factual and legal flaws.”
The group later adds “For more than 50 years, WPATH has been committed to developing guidelines informed by established scientific standards, expert consensus, and patient centered values. WPATH supports individualized patient care, not a 'one size fits all’ approach. Transgender and gender-diverse patients deserve the highest level of care from their medical professionals and the Standards of Care are designed to promote this through open dialogue and clear communication.”
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The lawsuit by the FTC is the latest move by the Trump administration to curb access to gender-affirming care for minors and target organizations involved in the practice. Earlier this year the FTC began investigating WPATH over its statements on gender-affirming care for children. WPATH sued to block the probe claiming the regulator was violating its First Amendment rights. A federal judge in May ruled in favor of WPATH to temporarily block the probe from continuing.
The FTC has launched investigations into the Endocrine Society the American Academy of Pediatrics as well.
WPATH has established widely-accepted medical standards for gender-affirming care for more than 50 years, the organization’s website notes, based on “established scientific standards, expert consensus and patient-centered values.”
The group goes on to say that “In previously ruling against the FTC, a federal district court has already found WPATH is in a strong position to prove that the FTC is acting out of pure retaliation as part of the federal government's relentless and targeted campaign to undermine gender-affirming care by attacking the First Amendment rights and the independence of professional medical organizations. We expect the same result when we oppose this latest attack on WPATH and its mission to promote evidence-informed care and guidance for doctors and their patients.”
