The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is examining statements from several organizations that have promoted drugs and surgeries for minors who believe they are a different gender, according to documents made public on Feb. 10.
FTC officials sent civil demands for documents to the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Professional Association of Transgender Health, documents posted online by the FTC show.
In the demands, dated Jan. 15, the FTC said officials are probing whether groups have “made, or assisted others in making, false or unsubstantiated representations or engaged in unfair practices in connection with the marketing and advertising of Pediatric Gender Dysphoria Treatment” in violation of federal law that bars people from engaging in deceptive practices affecting commerce and disseminating false advertisements.
Officials asked for each type of pediatric gender dysphoria treatment that the organizations advertised or promoted and information on financial relationships between the organizations and pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, or doctors involved in treating gender dysphoria.
They also want to know about the process for how the American Academy of Pediatrics developed its 2018 statement outlining its position on care for youth labeled as “transgender,” and how the World Professional Association of Transgender Health came up with its Standards of Care Version 8, which contains guidance for doctors contemplating giving children puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones, or performing surgeries on children questioning their gender.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in 2025 the agency would investigate whether the gender transition procedures were being offered under unfair or false claims.
The inquiry is looking into whether people, particularly children, were harmed by false or unsubstantiated claims about “gender-affirming care.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics said in a response to the civil demand, filed with the FTC, that the FTC was going beyond its scope in the probe and that the demand should be quashed.
The World Professional Association of Transgender Health issued a similar response in a petition to revoke the demand directed to it.
The FTC and the American Academy of Pediatrics did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
A spokesperson for the World Professional Association of Transgender Health told The Epoch Times in an email that the group is committed to creating “cautious, ethical, and evidence-informed guidelines that support a process including individualized assessments, not a one-size-fits all approach.”
The spokesperson added, “The federal government’s continued attacks on gender-affirming care not only mischaracterize this commitment but serve as a canary in the coal mine for the broader medical community and what is potentially to come for patients across disciplines. That is why we are making our position clear—patients deserve the highest level of care from their medical providers and the Standards of Care are designed to promote this.”
If the petitions are turned down, the groups could turn to the courts.
Several other organizations sued the FTC over a separate probe. A federal judge said in 2025 that the FTC’s civil demands in that investigation likely violated the constitutional rights of the organizations.
The new developments came after two medical groups, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Medical Association, said that there is uncertainty regarding treatments for gender dysphoria and that doctors should largely steer clear of surgeries on children.
They also followed a jury in New York finding two doctors liable for the breast removal surgery they supported and performed on a 16-year-old girl.
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