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As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) continued attacks on transgender people, the agency is soliciting information on “individuals, entities, or institutions” that have made public statements about gender-affirming care.
On July 28, the FTC announced that it was launching a public inquiry to “better understand how consumers may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about ‘gender-affirming care,’ especially as it relates to minors, and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing.”
In its request for public comments, the commission includes a lengthy questionnaire which asks people to disclose “any individuals, entities, or institutions that have promoted, advertised, or otherwise made public representations about GAC procedures or GAC-related products.”
It’s unclear how the FTC plans to use the information. In its request for comments, it said, “As the agency that has been historically tasked as the federal government’s guardian against deceptive health claims and has brought dozens of enforcement actions in this area, the FTC is uniquely positioned to investigate this potentially unlawful activity.”
The commission’s statement is misleading. Under FTC Chair Andrew N. Ferguson’s leadership, the FTC has made an abrupt turn from reining in corporations’ abusive practices to attempting to deprive transgender people of lifesaving care.
In January, President Donald Trump appointed Ferguson to replace Lina Khan as chair, sparking widespread outrage. Under Khan’s leadership, the FTC had sued large corporations, like Amazon, for illegal business practices, and filed lawsuits against Uber, GrubHub and Care.com for deceiving workers about the amount of money they could earn.
Ferguson, on the other hand, was lead counsel for Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and had clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2024, President Joe Biden nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Ferguson to the commission.
As chair, he has dutifully promoted the Trump administration’s agenda to eliminate transgender people from public life. On July 9, the FTC hosted a workshop entitled “The Dangers of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Minors.” At the workshop, Ferguson addressed the participants and parroted falsehoods about the dangers of providing gender-affirming care to trans youth.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has launched a relentless assault on the rights of transgender people. In July, the Department of Justice subpoenaed more than 20 medical providers “involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children.”
In January, Trump issued an executive order barring federal funding for health centers that provide gender-affirming care to people under the age of 19, prompting a lawsuit by the ACLU and other groups on behalf of seven families. A federal appeals court temporarily blocked enforcement of the order. In another executive order, Trump barred the Bureau of Prisons from providing gender-affirming care and clothing to people incarcerated in federal lock-ups, and prohibited female staff from conducting searches of transgender women. That order was also temporarily blocked by a federal court.
Trump’s attacks have taken an incalculable toll on transgender children and adults, as well as their families. One of the plaintiffs in the ACLU’s lawsuit said that after months of trying to get an appointment for her daughter at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), she finally scheduled one for January 29, the day after Trump issued his executive order banning federal funds for institutions that provide gender-affirming care.
“[J]ust a few hours before our appointment, VCU told us they would not be able to provide Willow with care,” she said at the time the lawsuit was filed. “I thought Virginia would be a safe place for me and my daughter. Instead, I am heartbroken, tired, and scared.”
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