The Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, filing a lawsuit Wednesday alongside four states as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The lawsuit, which includes Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas as co-plaintiffs, claims that WPATH made misleading statements about gender-affirming care provided to minors and that its members financially benefited from those claims.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson addressed the lawsuit on X, stating: “Parents have a right to make informed decisions about their children’s health. The FTC will not allow parents and children to be deceived by medical organizations and providers who are prioritizing profit over children’s health and safety.”
In response, WPATH released a statement defending its approach, saying its guidelines are designed to provide care tailored to each individual patient rather than applying a single standard to everyone.
This lawsuit follows a prior FTC investigation into WPATH, which the organization challenged in court, arguing the probe violated its First Amendment rights. A federal judge ruled in WPATH’s favor in May, temporarily halting the investigation.
The FTC has also opened investigations into the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society regarding their own guidelines on gender-affirming care. Both organizations have responded by filing lawsuits against the agency.
According to its website, WPATH has been developing widely accepted medical standards for gender-affirming care for more than 50 years, grounding its guidelines in “established scientific standards, expert consensus and patient-centered values.”
WPATH pointed to the earlier court ruling as evidence of its strong legal footing, and vowed to fight the new lawsuit. “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,” the organization said. “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.”
