Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined a lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, alleging the organization deceptively marketed powerful drugs and harmful surgeries to minors.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that in 2022 WPATH removed age restrictions for life-altering surgeries from its “Standards of Care” document, which provides the organization’s recommendations for treating gender dysphoria in children.
The complaint also alleges that WPATH failed to disclose side effects associated with certain medical transition drugs for minors, including cross-sex hormones, which can cause mood disturbances, vocal pain, and pelvic pain.
Additionally, FTC’s complaint described instances in which parents seeking help for their children were asked by clinicians whether they “would rather have a live daughter or a dead son.”
“When an organization provides guidance designed to mislead families about the risks, benefits, or medical consensus behind a treatment, it undermines trust in those responsible for providing medical care,” said Federal Trade Commissioner Mark R. Meador. “Our action today is a straightforward application of the law to ensure that families receive accurate, evidence-based information as they seek to make some of the most important healthcare decisions for their children.”
Alongside the FTC and attorneys general of Alaska, Iowa, and Nebraska, Paxton joined the lawsuit and brought claims against WPATH under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeking to halt the organization’s illegal conduct and hold it accountable for harm done to families.
“Any group that illegally promotes irreversible, life-altering ‘transitioning’ procedures to kids as safe and necessary will face the full force of the law for harming children,” said Paxton. “We will not allow WPATH or any other organization to illegally promote or perform dangerous ‘transitioning’ procedures on our kids that leave them with permanent trauma and lifelong health consequences.”
