U.S. bishops urge FTC action against ‘false’ claims on ‘gender

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 2, 2025 / 12:46 pm

U.S. Catholic bishops are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to scrutinize “false or unsupported claims” in advertisements that promote hormone therapy drugs and surgeries to Americans, and particularly to children.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) submitted a public comment to the FTC on Sept. 26. The FTC requested public comments in July after launching a formal inquiry into consumers possibly being exposed to false claims.

William Quinn, USCCB general counsel, and Daniel Balserak, assistant general counsel, wrote that “weak and increasingly questioned scientific evidence” used to support the use of hormone therapy drugs underscores the need for FTC scrutiny of promotional claims.

In one example, t