US FTC sues transgender health nonprofit over youth care standards

By Jody Godoy

June 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and four states accused a nonprofit focused on transgender health of making misleading statements about the benefits of gender-affirming treatments for young people in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

The lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is the latest move by the Trump administration and Republican-led states to limit gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Texas, Iowa, Nebraska and Alaska joined the lawsuit filed in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas.

A spokesperson for WPATH did not immediately have comment on Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleges that WPATH, a group that issues recommendations for the care of transgender patients, misled doctors and families regarding the risks associated with some treatments. The FTC and states said the group overstated the link between gender-affirming care and preventing suicide by children and teens experiencing gender dysphoria, a condition marked by distress experienced when a person’s gender identity doesn’t align with their sex assigned at birth. The plaintiffs allege the group sought to have more treatments covered by insurance so that its members could benefit financially. 

President Donald Trump has moved in his second term to end access to gender-affirming care for minors through restrictive policies and investigations, after declaring a federal policy of recognizing only sex assigned as male or female at birth. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have criticized and sued the Trump administration over the policies, calling them damaging and discriminatory. 

Under FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the FTC has been investigating WPATH and other medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics over their statements on gender-affirming care for minors. The FTC is not a medical regulator, but has sued companies for allegedly using false claims to market health products.  

WPATH sued to block the probe, saying the organization “supports individualized patient care, not a ‘one size fits all’ approach” and that its guidelines are “informed by established scientific standards, expert consensus, and patient centered values.”

A judge in May blocked the FTC’s subpoena, saying WPATH would likely be able to show the probe was a bid to retaliate against the group over its support for gender-affirming care.

Gender-transition care can range from advice on adopting a preferred name or pronoun to puberty-blocking drugs and hormones or surgery. Medical ​care is often given to people diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Nearly 1.5 million people aged 13 to 24 identify as transgender in the U.S., according to a UCLA study of health records from 2023.

Some healthcare providers have stepped back from offering gender-affirming care for minors in the wake of Trump’s policies, spurring some families to consider moving to different states to access treatment.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Chris Sanders and Caroline Humer)