Last week, I was privileged to attend the largest gathering of social conservatives in the country at the annual SoConCON event in Indianapolis. CLICK HERE for more info on that.

At the conference, one of the seminars highlighted work in the Trump Administration under the Federal Trade Commission to hold medical professionals accountable for making claims about so-called “gender-affirming” care on minors that is anything but factual.

We were very encouraged to hear directly from FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson about the role his agency is taking on to hold those who have made false and misleading claims about surgical and chemical castration of minors.

I was blessed to have a short conversation with Chairman Ferguson following the seminar and promised Alaska would do everything we can to shed light on and end this practice in the Great Land.

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry 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.

This is a very powerful tool that we now have to help bring sanity and respect back to the healthcare arena.

The FTC is now actively encouraging members of the public to comment on any issues or concerns that are relevant to the FTC’s consideration of this topic, including by submitting any “written data, advertisements, social media posts, disclosures, or empirical research.” Comments must be received no later than Friday, September 26, 2025, by 11:59pm ET

Proponents of “gender affirming care”, including healthcare and medical institutions, have long touted the benefits of this type of care, including for minors. Over time, however, reporting by multiple news outlets, personal accounts by parents and detransitioners, disclosures by whistleblowers, independent reviews and studies, and even information and communications from institutions promoting these practices have revealed potential deceptive or unfair practices involved in this type of medical care.”  – From Federal Trade Commission’s request for public comments on “Gender-Affirming Care” for minors

CLICK HERE to provide comments that can be done confidentially, if necessary. Send an email to info@akfamily.org after you comment and we’ll do our part to ensure it gets the attention it deserves.

Nationally and internationally, there has been massive momentum toward ending the malpractice of mutilation of minors as a medically effective means of addressing gender-dysphoria. CLICK HERE to read how the FTC came to its decision to reach out for public comment and begin investigations and CLICK HERE to see what our friends at Do No Harm Medicine are advancing.

Here in Alaska, the Alaska State Medical Board (ASMB) unanimously adopted a statement in March of this year urging the Alaska Legislature to stop chemical and surgical mutilation of minors. Predictably, the Democrat-led Legislature ignored the advice from the medical community and didn’t even hold a hearing on the policy.

Representative Jamie Allard, a Republican from Eagle River, and an Alaska Family Council-nominated recent attendee of the Statesmen’s Academy, has led the charge on this issue introducing legislation back in 2024 to extend the liability on physicians who perform surgical and chemical mutilation.

Although the Democrat-led Legislature, given its power by a few Republicans who didn’t want to organize with other Republicans to form a majority, is not likely to do anything on this important policy matter until conservatives reclaim Juneau, there is hope in the here and now because of people like FTC Chairman Ferguson who take their role of protecting the public seriously.

May Alaskans of all walks do their part and step up for common sense to stop the harm.

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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