The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hosting a workshop this week focusing on “unfair and deceptive trade practices” in so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors.
The workshop, to be held on Wednesday in Washington, DC, is called “The Dangers of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Minors,” and will include presentations from detransitioners and their families, doctors, medical ethicists, and whistleblowers.
“Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act gives the FTC broad authority to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices. This authority could be implicated if there is evidence that medical professionals or others omitted warnings about the risks or made false or unsupported claims about the benefits and effectiveness of gender-affirming care for minors,” the FTC said in a press release about the event.
“The workshop will help the FTC to understand whether consumers are being or have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about ‘gender-affirming care’ and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing,” the agency continued.
The workshop comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January ending the federal government’s previous support of sex mutilating drugs and surgeries for minors as a supposed treatment for gender dysphoria. The FTC is also convening just a few weeks after the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s law banning sex change drugs and surgeries for minors, essentially enabling other states to do the same.