NHS to Affirm Biological Sex, Pledges Government

The NHS’s charter will affirm biological sex and patients in England will have the right to be treated in single-sex wards, the government has proposed. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins announced on Tuesday plans to update the NHS Constitution so that it will affirm sex-based care and language, with the government pledging, “we are defining sex as biological sex.” Under the proposals, which are subject to consultation, men and women will have the right to request to be treated in single-sex ward. People who identify as the opposite gender could be provided with a single room. Patients will also be able to request that intimate care—such as examinations of breasts and genital areas—is conducted by someone of the same sex....