Informed consent is a pillar of any ethical medical practice or treatment, but like the pseudo-science cited by proponents of “transgender” genital mutilation and chemical castration, it is notoriously absent from discussions about whether to pursue the irreversible medical interventions.
On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an inquiry, requesting public input, as to the true scope of information provided to would-be patients — with a particular focus on children — by doctors or other health professionals before being convinced to start the experimental and permanently harmful interventions.
The FTC says it wants 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.”
The inquiry follows a July 9 event where the FTC heard from a variety doctors, detransitioners, parents, and medical ethicists on the subject of deceptive trade practices when it comes to fully describing the risks involved with the unproven and often gruesome medical procedures.
“The FTC seeks to evaluate whether consumers (in particular, minors) have been harmed and whether medical professionals or others may have violated Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act by failing to disclose material risks associated with ‘gender-affirming care’ or making false or unsubstantiated claims about the benefits or effectiveness of ‘gender-affirming care,” the FTC wrote.
For its entire existence, what far-left activists call “gender-affirming care,” which is really the idea that one can medically change their sex and somehow solve their mental health issues, has been based on very little scientific evidence and almost entirely on ideology. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) completed its systematic review of the evidence for efficacy of the interventions in May, only to find that there is essentially zero evidence it is safe or effective.
Nonetheless, doctors have been pushing the interventions in children and adults as essentially a “cure du jour” for gender dysphoria, despite no evidence to back it up. The number of special interests and professional medical associations submitting supportive documents in the landmark Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti, which allowed states to ban the medical interventions for minors, shows how invested these people are in continuing the procedures.
As The Federalist reported, many minors in particular are coerced into pursuing the medical interventions without any knowledge of the negative side-effects or risks involved. Many of them maim their bodies permanently and must live with the regret of doing so.
Doctors who want to convince people to pursue these medical interventions are known to deceive, bully, and emotionally blackmail parents into convincing them to let their children start the drugs and prepare for surgery.
It is extraordinarily common for parents to report that the doctor threatens them with the death of their child, asking “would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?” in order to coerce them into pursuing a “transition.”
The FTC is giving 60 days for the public to provide their input.
Breccan F. Thies is a correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.