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Trump Administration’s Attempt to Intimidate Medical Organizations with Baseless Investigations Undermines Public Health
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of attorneys general in filing two amicus briefs, one in support of the Endocrine Society (ES) and one in support of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which are being targeted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over recommendations that run counter to the Trump administration’s preferred policies.
The coalition filed briefs in support of lawsuits filed by ES and WPATH challenging the FTC’s improperly motivated demands that the organizations turn over extensive information regarding their deliberative processes, personnel, internal and external communications, political advocacy, educational programs, finances, and more. Both ES and WPATH are seeking a court order to block the FTC’s Civil Investigative Demand for this information, which the FTC seeks to further the Administration’s political agenda, rather than to ensure the wide availability of safe healthcare.
“This federal investigation is not about safety — it is about silencing medical experts whose findings the Trump Administration does not like,” said Attorney General Brown. “We are filing this brief because Marylanders deserve to make decisions about their health based on scientific evidence, not ideology.”
In their briefs, Attorney General Brown and the coalition note that states have long been recognized as the regulators of healthcare and play a unique and critical role in ensuring that all people, including children and youth, have access to the highest quality and safest care. To ensure that state public health policies and medical policies are driven by the latest developments and consensus among the medical and scientific community, states look to the policies and recommendations of healthcare experts, such as ES and WPATH, for guidance and trusted information. States must be able to rely on the quality and accuracy of these professional organizations’ guidance, which would be compromised by the federal government’s politically driven interference.
The attorneys general argue that targeting ES and WPATH is part of a pattern by the Trump administration that disagrees with widely held public health and medical recommendations of respected medical professionals and public health officials. The Administration often issues guidance that conflicts with recommendations on many different medical issues, ranging from childhood vaccines to whether pregnant women can safely take medicines like Tylenol.
On March 10, Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a similar amicus brief supporting the American Academy of Pediatrics in their lawsuit against the Trump administration’s illegal data demands.
The coalition is urging the court to grant ES and WPATH preliminary injunctions to stop the FTC’s investigative demands for information.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the ES brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the WPATH brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
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