federal judge texas Attorney General Roe Doak said Thursday that the Trump administration has suspended consideration of an emergency request in a lawsuit against the World Association of Transgender Health Professionals after two federal courts entered into an unusual standoff over how to proceed with the fight. reported.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas, a George W.
The move is surprising because O’Connor has embraced conservative legal challenges, including targeted lawsuits. LGBTQ+ Protection and federal health policy. But this time, it delayed the administration’s attempt to limit WPATH’s ability to seek relief in another federal court.
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The FTC includes the Attorney General of Texas; iowaDoak Law said it asked Mr. O’Connor late Thursday to prohibit WPATH from seeking relief in any court other than Mr. O’Connor’s court, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, or the U.S. Supreme Court. The request would effectively prevent WPATH from pursuing relief before Boasberg, who already had a landmark judgment against the FTC in May.
At the time, Mr. Boasberg issued a preliminary injunction against WPATH and the Endocrine Society, temporarily halting an FTC investigation that the organizations claimed was politically motivated and unconstitutional. as defender Previously reportedthe FTC had issued a civil investigative request seeking years of internal records, communications, financial information, meeting materials, and documents related to medical guidance. transgender care.
Mr. Boasberg was harshly critical of the administration’s motives. Regarding the WPATH lawsuit, he wrote that the record “strongly suggests that the CID was issued due, at least in part, to hostility to WPATH’s views and advocacy regarding transgender care.” He also cited “extensive evidence of hostility” and “flimsy justifications without supporting evidence.”
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Boasberg, in a parallel Endocrine Society lawsuit, warned that the FTC’s actions raise “serious concerns that the FTC’s investigative powers are being used to target adverse speech and advocacy rather than to police commercial fraud.”
The FTC and Republican Attorney General alaskaIowa, nebraska and texas I sued WPATH on June 17th. In federal court in Texas. The 123-page complaint names WPATH’s Texas and Illinois entities, as well as WPATH’s U.S. chapter, the American Association of Transgender Health Professionals.
The lawsuit accuses WPATH of making false or unsubstantiated claims about the safety, effectiveness, medical necessity, and evidentiary basis of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for adolescents. The lawsuit targets organizations whose standards of care have helped shape the medical, legal and insurance landscape surrounding transgender healthcare for decades.
WPATH rejected the lawsuit when it was filed, accusing it of abusing the power of the federal government to attack transgender patients and the medical professionals who care for them.
“This is the second time this year that the Trump administration has abused the authority of a government agency to interfere with Americans’ right to seek and obtain health care that should be determined between patient and doctor,” WPATH said in a statement. defender at that time.
WPATH also said the FTC “is not a health care provider and has no position in interfering with an individual’s medical decision-making process.”
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FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson characterized the case as a consumer protection issue, saying parents need “complete and truthful information” when making medical decisions for their children. WPATH defended its efforts, saying it has developed guidelines “based on established scientific standards, expert consensus, and patient-centered values” for more than 50 years.
“WPATH supports individualized patient care rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach,” the organization said in a previous statement to the Advocate. “Transgender and gender diverse patients deserve the highest level of care from health care professionals, and standards of care are designed to promote this through open dialogue and clear communication.”
The latest procedural dispute began after WPATH asked Boasberg on June 30 to stop the FTC from pursuing litigation in the Texas case, except for a mandatory counterclaim in the Washington, D.C., case. Boasberg scheduled a press conference for Thursday. Hours later, the FTC visited O’Connor and sought an order preventing WPATH from seeking relief before Mr. Boasberg.
WPATH’s lawyers then alerted Mr. Boasberg and sought emergency relief in DC. They also notified Mr O’Connor of DC’s application, Law Doak reported.
By Friday, Mr. O’Connor had withdrawn. In an order issued after “consultation” with Mr. Boasberg, he canceled the Texas hearing and said he would wait until after Mr. Boasberg’s rules. Mr. Boasberg then denied that WPATH’s emergency request was invalid because Mr. O’Connor had agreed to suspend consideration of the FTC’s request.
Boasberg is scheduled to hear WPATH’s earlier request on Thursday. His ruling could determine whether the FTC’s Texas case moves forward in O’Connor’s case.
The dispute is the latest legal battle over the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against gender-affirming care. Federal agencies have used subpoenas, investigations, and civil enforcement theories to target hospitals, medical facilities, and health care providers involved in the care of transgender minors. Judges have recently blocked some of these efforts, including subpoenas seeking personal medical records from hospitals that treated transgender youth.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
