Florida Attorney General Sues Medical Organizations for Misleading Families About Sex-Change Procedures

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a major lawsuit against three prominent medical organizations, accusing them of deceiving families about the safety and effectiveness of sex-change procedures for children.

The lawsuit targets the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Florida’s A.G. alleges these groups made millions of dollars pushing experimental treatments like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries on children — all while knowing there’s no solid evidence these procedures actually help kids with gender confusion.

The lawsuit exposes how these organizations have been citing each other’s work in a circular pattern for years, manufacturing a “facade of legitimacy.”

The lawsuit seeks to hold these organizations accountable under the state’s consumer protection laws.

Public health experts and policymakers in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids. These drugs and procedures carry serious risks — including infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density, and cardiovascular problems.

Whistleblowers have come forward to testify about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives. It is absolutely vital that Americans understand just how harmful these procedures are.

In January, President Trump issued an executive order prohibiting federal funding from being used for sex-change procedures on kids, and the federal government is expected to propose new rules that could help protect children from sex-change procedures nationwide.

Earlier this summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a public inquiry into whether U.S. doctors and clinics may have deceived parents and children about the risks of these procedures. The U.S. Department of Justice also subpoenaed doctors and medical facilities involved in performing sex-change procedures on minors.

In September, the U.S. Department of Justice sent Congress the federal Victims of Chemical or Surgical Mutilation Act. The proposed federal law would generally prevent doctors, hospitals, and clinics from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.

Florida’s lawsuit points out that in 2021, lawmakers in Arkansas passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act. This good law was the first of its kind in America. It generally prohibits doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. This year a federal court upheld the SAFE Act, which means the law is protecting children in Arkansas right now.

Florida’s lawsuit proves that Arkansas’ lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act back in 2021. The fact that Florida’s attorney general is now taking these organizations to court shows the tide of public opinion — and public policy — is continuing to turn in support of children. That’s something to celebrate.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.