WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission is setting its sights on the industry pushing transgender medical procedures on minors, documents show a potential major step in the Trump administration;s efforts to crack down on radical gender ideology.
The FTC, an agency tasked with protecting American consumers, will hold a day-long workshop in July on transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers, according to an internal memo. That;s a likely indicator of the agency’s intentions: the FTC often holds such events before initiating legal action against an industry to gain information, gather evidence, and solicit the input of affected Americans.
“Under the Federal Trade Commission Act, the FTC is provided broad authority to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive trade acts and practices,” the memo reads. “There is now considerable reason to believe that the doctors and medical providers pushing [gender-affirming care] on minors are knowingly deceiving parents by exaggerating [gender-affirming care’s] ‘benefits’ and downplaying its harmful side effects.”
The Trump-appointed chairman of the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, reportedly pitched the president on using the agency to fight “against the trans agenda” before he was selected for the post, according to a document.
Ferguson believed the FTC could “investigate the doctors, therapists, hospitals, and others who deceptively pushed gender confusion, puberty blockers, hormone replacement, and sex-change surgeries on children and adults while failing to disclose strong evidence that such interventions are not helpful and carry enormous risks,” Punchbowl reported.