The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a public inquiry to investigate potential deception and harm caused by “gender-affirming care” for minors, following a recent workshop that featured whistleblowers, doctors, and parents of detransitioners. The FTC will accept public comments over the next 60 days, seeking to assess whether medical professionals have misled families or violated federal law under Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act.
Dr. Jared Ross, Senior Fellow at Do No Harm, called the move “a great step forward” in exposing “ideologically motivated physicians” and ending pediatric gender medicine, which he described as a “heinous practice” that manipulates families and creates “lifelong medical patients.”
The FTC’s announcement outlines its interest in hearing from individuals harmed by these medical practices, especially in cases where doctors failed to disclose risks or made unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of hormonal or surgical interventions for children experiencing gender confusion.
The American Principles Project applauded the Trump administration and the FTC, saying their actions mark a commitment to dismantling what it calls the “Gender Industrial Complex.” President Terry Schilling expressed confidence that the inquiry will help deliver justice for victims of so-called gender-affirming care.
Dr. Ross emphasized that pediatric gender care often promotes pseudoscientific claims—such as the idea that sex is assigned at birth or that humans exist on a spectrum of sex. He identified “the suicide myth” as one of the most harmful lies in the industry, calling it emotional blackmail that deters proper psychiatric treatment.
“These interventions detract from the true underlying mental health conditions that these gender-confused youth are suffering from,” Ross said. “Psychological inquiry is discarded in favor of dissociation, and medications that worsen mental health are administered.”
The FTC’s workshop earlier this month included testimonies from doctors, ethicists, and detransitioners who said gender-affirming care for minors constitutes one of the “greatest frauds” ever committed against the American public.
The FTC has not yet issued a public response to media inquiries about the investigation.
