Florida has filed a lawsuit against three major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, accusing them of promoting misleading information about gender-affirming care for children to boost demand for services and increase membership revenue. The other defendants named are the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Endocrine Society.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the suit, claiming the organizations failed to fully disclose risks and uncertainties associated with gender-affirming care while presenting their recommendations as settled science. Gender-affirming care encompasses psychological, behavioral, and medical approaches to treating gender dysphoria, with surgeries for minors being extremely rare. The lawsuit alleges that these groups circulated clinical guidelines primarily to drive membership and revenue, stating that such actions exploit children’s mental distress and parental concerns to promote medical interventions that Florida characterizes as harmful. The state is seeking penalties and injunctive relief.
In response, WPATH defended its guidelines, emphasizing evidence-informed care to improve outcomes for transgender individuals and the importance of medical decisions being made privately between patients, families, and providers. The lawsuit comes after Florida banned gender-affirming care for minors in 2023, though a federal judge struck down the ban before an appeals court later stayed the ruling. The case continues amid an ongoing national debate over transgender healthcare for minors. Florida is home to an estimated 42,800 transgender youth ages 13 to 17, representing roughly 3.2% of the state’s youth population.