By Rachel Savage , Hugo Greenhalgh. LONDON Thomson Reuters Foundation - Children aged under 16 will need court approval in England and Wales to access puberty blockers after a landmark ruling on Tuesday amid a global debate about the age at which a child can choose to transition gender. Following the ruling, the National Health Service NHS England updated its guidelines to state that a court order must be sought for any new referral for such medication. Keira Bell, 23, brought the action against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust after regretting taking puberty blockers at the age of 16 that she feared may have damaged her ability to have children. A spokeswoman confirmed the Trust was in talks with lawyers. Previously in Britain under a court ruling, children under the age of 16 could consent to medical treatment if they were deemed to understand and fully appreciate the implications, in what is known as the Gillick competence test.


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Terms to Know if Your Teen is Transgender
The latest information about the Novel Coronavirus, including vaccine clinics for year-olds. When teenagers confide that they are transgender or uncertain about their gender identity, their parents may be unsure how to offer support. To find out what types of family support help transgender adolescents, a Stanford research team asked them. The actions teens valued most were among the simplest, according to the new study, which was published March 8 in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Teens said they most appreciated having parents use their preferred name and pronoun, as well as knowing that their parents were emotionally available and listening to their concerns.
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Your gender is whether you think of yourself as male, female or anything else. It may be the same as the sex assigned at birth, or it may be different. Remember, your gender identity is what feels natural to you. You may know early in your life that you would feel more comfortable being the opposite gender or gender diverse, or you may take a long time to explore your gender. When this mismatch causes severe distress, it is called gender dysphoria.
Caroline Miller. The term transgender has been very much in the news over the last several years, but many of us know little about the experience that makes an increasing number of young people say they are the wrong gender, and need to make a change. Young people who are transgender feel powerfully that they wish to be — or are — the other gender.