Attorney General James Uthmeier says his Office has filed a lawsuit against three organizations to stop “gender-affirming care” for minors.
Uthmeier filed the 75-page lawsuit in the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in St. Lucie County against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Endocrine Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The lawsuit was not filed to stop treatment for any specific individual, but rather due to the three organizations’ general practices. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, along with civil penalties in violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida RICO Act.
The lawsuit specifically targets the organizations for addressing “gender dysphoria,” which is a condition that causes anxiety about “one’s sexed body and/or associated social expectations.”
Uthmeier’s main complaint in the legal filing is that pediatric gender dysphoria was a rare condition as little as a decade ago. His complaint says diagnoses of gender dysphoria should not be equated with transgender procedures prescribed for minors because “it is natural for children and adolescents to feel anxious about their changing bodies, these feelings usually ‘disappear’ after they reach puberty.”
The suit said gender dysphoria is really a symptom of psychological needs, and that a “holistic psychosocial” approach would be better equipped to deal with the pediatric condition. The lawsuit added that family therapy and individual counseling would likely lead to a more balanced approach to dealing with the condition rather than more aggressive procedures.
“So, rather than attempting to resolve the underlying causes of psychological distress, defendants developed a treatment protocol that irreversibly alters children’s bodies to conform to their anxieties,” the lawsuit said.
In a recorded video statement published Tuesday, Uthmeier said the three organizations named as defendants in the lawsuit didn’t really exhaust other methods of dealing with gender dysphoria and, therefore, misled patients who were minors.
“We believe these organizations failed to disclose the risks, limits and evidence in promoting so-called ‘gender-affirming care for children.’ For years, these groups have insisted the recommendations are settled science. But behind closed doors, they knew the evidence was weak, the outcomes uncertain and the risks very real,” Uthmeier said.
