The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is launching an investigation to see if so-called “gender transition” procedures are being offered under unfair or deceptive claims.
“Today is not about politics,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in his opening remarks at a July 9 FTC workshop examining the issue.
“I’m not charged with passing moral judgment on anyone’s ideology, lifestyle, or medical choices. I am charged, however, with protecting my fellow citizens from unfair or deceptive trade practices.”
Ferguson dismissed the idea that the FTC has no business getting involved in the “politically controversial” issue of gender medicine. He noted that the agency is a watchdog against “fraudulent and deceptive” health claims, and has a history of successfully challenging those who peddle them.
Chairman Ferguson noted that such treatments are often recommended to parents to relieve their children’s gender dysphoria, the psychological pain caused by the belief that one’s biological sex is mismatched with their gender.
Puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-changing surgeries are necessary to prevent further distress or suicide, proponents of these procedures say.
“Parents are thus confronted with a terrifying choice: Either consent to gender-affirming care, or their child may die,” Ferguson said.
Buyer’s Remorse
The FTC’s concerns were bolstered by speakers at the workshop who had “detransitioned” by having earlier gender interventions reversed.
In the case of Simon Amaya Price, whose father had rejected gender-changing options suggested by medical professionals, the reversal was complete.
He had only “socially” transitioned and had undergone no medical procedures.
Simon’s father noted that he could not name the therapist who resolved his son’s gender dysphoria, since such alternative approaches are illegal in their home state of Massachusetts.
Others like Forest Smith, who had his testicles removed before deciding to detransition, were left with permanent changes that ranged from nerve pain to infertility and incontinence.
Whistleblowers—former social workers and registered nurses—also warned that the procedures were being recommended with little oversight, and without addressing underlying psychological issues.
“To a person, every single trans-identified minor female patient that I took care of described herself as either neurodivergent, same-sex attracted or a survivor of sexual assault,” nurse-practitioner Leta Boylan said.
“Some girls were all three.” Most of these young women were also being monitored for self-harm and were heavily scarred from cutting themselves, Boylan said.
Tamara Pietzke, a former clinical social worker, said that when she asked too many questions about the number of youth being transitioned, her employer deemed her a “risk,” and would no longer allow her to work with patients suffering from gender dysphoria.
She quit and opened her own practice, only to be slapped with a state investigation for not being “gender-affirming,” she said.
—Stacy Robinson
BOOKMARKS
President Donald Trump began implementing his promised tariff plan three months ago, but how are businesses coping with the ups and downs? Check out Andrew Moran’s latest report to find out.
Union workers in Philadelphia have reached a tentative deal with Mayor Cherelle Parker, which may soon end a week-long strike by sanitation workers, librarians, and 911 dispatchers. Judge Sierra Thomas-Street had issued an order last week commanding many of the striking workers to get back on the job for public safety reasons.
Susan Monarez got one step closer toward leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 9, after her nomination passed the Senate Health Committee by a 12-11 vote. The rule requiring Senate confirmation for the position is new, and just took effect in January.
Epoch Times reporters Nanette Holt, Natasha Holt, and Richard Moore were awarded The Society of Professional Journalists’ 2024 Sigma Delta Chi Award. Check out the story behind the story—and maybe the story itself—here.
—Stacy Robinson
