The Federal Trade Commission and four state attorneys general have sued the main professional organization for gender-affirming care clinicians, alleging it made false claims to sell medical services to kids.
The lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), filed Wednesday in a federal court in Texas, is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to end gender-affirming care for minors.
The FTC and attorneys general in Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas allege WPATH misled children and parents about the benefits and risks of surgeries and drugs and “deceived many consumers into believing that its treatment guidelines are based on strong evidence derived from scientific methods,” the lawsuit states.
WPATH did not issue an immediate statement in response.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas, a court with a conservative reputation where the Trump administration has recently centralized its legal efforts around gender-affirming care. At least one hospital, NYU Langone, has received a grand jury subpoena from the same district.
