Chief Judge Boasberg denied a temporary restraining order, allowing the Federal Trade Commission’s deceptive practices case to proceed.
A federal judge on Friday let stand an FTC lawsuit alleging a transgender health nonprofit made misleading claims about gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting the organization’s request for an immediate block.
In his order, Chief Judge James E. Boasberg determined that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) failed to meet the high bar for emergency relief.
“When parties seek an extraordinary remedy, they must make an extraordinary showing,” the judge wrote.
The group had attempted to procure a temporary restraining order to stop the FTC lawsuit, which alleges deceptive practices and false advertising under the FTC Act tied to WPATH’s guidelines on treating gender dysphoria.
The FTC filed the case in the Northern District of Texas alongside several states, including Iowa. WPATH argued that moving forward would violate its First Amendment rights. Boasberg threw out the argument.
“WPATH is subject only to an entity’s standard obligation to litigate once a government agency brings a claim against it—that is, no harm at all,” he stated.
WPATH also attempted to connect the enforcement action to an earlier civil investigative demand that the FTC had issued and later withdrawn. Boasberg clarified that his prior order covered only that demand and failed to insulate the group from this lawsuit or additional requests for information. The current case stands on its own, he said.
The judge raised concerns about the broader tactic at play.
“Linking a suit by the FTC to pre-enforcement-investigation challenges risks allowing plaintiffs ‘to choose the forum and pace of the litigation simply by bringing pre[-]enforcement actions,’” he wrote, drawing on precedent.
Observers highlighted that the ruling shows deference to the proceedings already underway before Chief Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson celebrated the result in a statement on X.
“WPATH was so desperate to avoid facing justice in Texas they tried to melt down our entire court system. But Judge Boasberg’s decision has cleared the way. WPATH will answer for its conduct in the state of its incorporation,” he wrote.
