The organization widely regarded as the leading authority on transgender medical treatment is facing allegations from the Federal Trade Commission that it built influential treatment guidelines for minors on evidence its own leaders privately acknowledged was limited and uncertain.The complaint, filed in a Texas federal court by the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas, accuses World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) of developing and promoting guidance that healthcare providers relied upon when recommending puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex-change procedures for minors.The case could determine whether the medical guidance that shaped transgender treatment for thousands of children was built on solid evidence or agenda-driven speculation.FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the lawsuit is a consumer-protection case focused on whether families were properly informed about the risks and benefits of these treatments.The FTC sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, alleging the organization misled parents and doctors about transgender medical treatments for minors.(Getty Images)WASHINGTON POST ADMITS SCIENCE BEHIND PUBERTY BLOCKERS AND HORMONES FOR MINORS NOT CLEAR"Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services," Ferguson said in a statement.
"For decades, the FTC has taken action against entities that make deceptive and unsubstantiated health-related claims."At the center of the lawsuit are allegations that WPATH publicly described its Standards of Care as evidence-based and rooted in expert consensus while some of the organization's own leaders privately acknowledged limitations in the available evidence.The complaint cites a 2023 strategy memo from Standards of Care 8th edition lead author Dr.Eli Coleman stating that "all of us are painfully aware that there are many gaps in re...