FTC Announces Workshop on Exploring Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices in “Gender-Affirming Care” for Minors

Today the Federal Trade Commission announced it will host a workshop focusing on unfair or deceptive trade practices in “gender-affirming care” for minors. The workshop, called “The Dangers of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Minors,” will take place on July 9, 2025, in Washington, DC and will be streamed online. A link to watch the webcast will be posted the morning of the event to FTC.gov.

The agenda for the workshop, which will be released prior to the event, will include doctors, medical ethicists, whistleblowers, detransitioners, and parents of detransitioners. These participants will share perspectives grounded in research, expertise, and personal experience.

The workshop is being convened following President Trump’s executive order ending the federal government’s previous support for “gender-affirming care” for minors. The order asserted that “medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.”

Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act gives the FTC broad authority to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices. This authority could be implicated if there is evidence that medical professionals or others omitted warnings about the risks or made false or unsupported claims about the benefits and effectiveness of gender-affirming care for minors.

The workshop will help the FTC to understand whether consumers are being or have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about “gender-affirming care” and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing.

For the safety of participants, in-person attendance at the event will be invitation only. Members of the public or press who wish to attend may email healthcareworkshop@ftc.gov to indicate interest.