The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking input from the public in its investigation into allegedly illegal claims made by the providers of body-disfiguring transgender procedures.
In an effort to gauge potential harms to consumers from “false or unsupported claims about ‘gender-affirming care,’ especially as it relates to minors,” the FTC encouraged individuals “to comment on any issues or concerns that are relevant to the FTC’s consideration of this topic,” according to a Monday press release.
The FTC said it will be accepting “any written data, advertisements, social media posts, disclosures, or empirical research” related to its inquiry.
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The FTC said it has been looking into whether providers of gender-affirming care have violated Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act by making false claims about the effectiveness of such procedures or failing to disclose their material risks.
Section 5 of the FTC Act regulates unfair or deceptive business practices, and Section 12 targets false advertising.
“The FTC has a long history of bringing enforcement actions in this area and is uniquely positioned to investigate this potentially unlawful activity,” the agency said, and encouraged the public to submit comments at Regulations.gov no later than Sept. 26.
The FTC’s most recent announcement comes on the heels of a day-long workshop the agency held in Washington, D.C., on July 9 regarding the harms of gender-affirming care. The event featured multiple panels of experts, whistleblowers, detransitioners and their families, some of whom were reduced to tears describing the pain such procedures have wrought in their lives.
During the workshop, the U.S. Justice Department’s Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle announced that the DOJ had issued more than 20 subpoenas against clinics that are engaged in trans medical procedures on children.
Boston Children’s Hospital, the first pediatric and adolescent trans-medicalization clinic in the U.S., was among the medical facilities that received a subpoena, the National Review reported Monday.
Brandon Showalter, a Christian Post opinion writer and social commentator who hosts the “Generation Indoctrination” podcast and participated in the FTC’s recent workshop, lauded the FTC’s recent move.
He anticipates that many will be supplying the FTC with “ample, concrete evidence of misleading claims, falsified medical records, and other fraudulent practices that are part and parcel of so-called ‘gender-affirming care.'”
Citing federal actions and the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 18 ruling upholding Tennessee’s law banning trans medicalization for minors, Showalter suggested the tide is turning against transgender ideology, but noted trans activists remain determined and powerful.
“The infrastructure that the trans industry has laid is enormous, well-funded and deeply embedded in prominent institutions, and they remain ideologically captured,” he said. “Even as some major hospitals are now closing their gender clinics or saying they are ‘pausing’ these ‘treatments,’ I have no doubt that trans activists are quietly regrouping, stealthily strategizing, and continuing to manipulate and cunningly deceive the public about their true intentions.”
“Trans activists are only ever about ruthless, raw power and never take ‘no’ for an answer, even when policies with teeth are enacted,” he added.
