CAGARY — The organization responsible for creating the guidelines for Canada's gender care policies has claimed its recommendations of care are not “bare assertions of fact but rather opinions.”The American World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), has been criticized for changing its recommendations of gender care to a softer stance.A recent legal suit filed against them by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges the group has made "deceptive" claims about the gender treatment policies that "mislead[s]."As reported by the National Post, WPATH argues that, in its influential Standards of Care guideline books, it does not present the guidance as "bare assertions of fact but rather opinions" based on scientific studies cited..They called these opinions "non-actionable" on subjects that are "medical[ly] and scientific[lly] uncertain." What's surprising, WPATH's "opinions" are being used as the basis for which Canadian pediatric physicians treat their patients.WPATH publishes and updates a Standards of Care (SOC) guide, which it claims "articulate a professional consensus about the psychiatric, psychological, medical and surgical management of transgender people.”The most recent version of the guide, SOC-8, was published in 2012 and has been signed by more than 100 co-authors..Most of what is done about gender-affirming care in Canada has been done in alignment with WPATH recommendations. The Canadian Paediatric Society refers to SOC-8 in its position statement supporting an affirming approach to gender treatment.SOC-8's recommendations are "internationally accepted" standards of care, SOC-8 reads.A new chapter added to SOC-8 on adolescents claims, "medical necessity of treatment and care is clearly recognized for the many people who experience dissonance between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity.”.The guidance states doctors may choose to depart from WPATH's guidance due to a patient's “unique anatomic, social or psychological situation,” like a recent study or other reasons.However, "These departures should be recognized as such, explained to the patient and documented for quality patient care and legal protection.”The FTC claims WPATH provided doctors with "guidance, materials, and training containing false, misleading, or unsubstantiated representations" about the effectiveness and safety of puberty blockers, hormones and sex-change surgeries.Though WPATH hopes to have this complaint dismissed, it claims the "core deceptive statements" do not appear in the SOC-8 and have been paraphrased by citations from other published research..The FTC "fail[s] to allege a single deceptive statement by WPATH, much less a statement to consumers," claimed WPATH."It expands that the guidelines are meant to be "flexible" not a "one size fits all.""That transgender healthcare is an area of intense medical debate does not entitle Plaintiffs to prevent individuals and organizations like WPATH from free speech aimed at contributing to that debate,” WPATH's motion to dismiss read."Many governments and organizations, including New Zealand, Canada, some U.S. States and the American Academy of Pediatrics, agree that the evidence supports SOC-8," stated WPATH..According to two studies done by Canadian researchers in 2025, there is uncertainty surrounding whether the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in children and teens help or harm.The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), a group concerned with low-evidenced interventions for gender care, stated "for 10+ years doctors have been told WPATH’s is the only way."SOC-8 drew criticism for removing a recommended minimum age for hormones and surgery.Several European countries have placed limitations in recent years under which a child can be prescribed puberty suppressing drugs..Like the UK did two years ago, when it put an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for the treatment of gender dysphoria for under 18s, after independent advice found the drugs pose an "unacceptable safety risk."
