Health Highlights: July 1, 2016

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Transgender Ban Lifted by U.S Military

Transgender people will be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday.

There are already thousands of transgender U.S. military personnel but until now they’ve had to hide that fact to avoid being discharged, The New York Times reported.

Last year, Carter called the ban on transgender service members outdated and ordered the military to examine the steps necessary to repeal it.

While there was opposition from some high-ranking military officials, several studies concluded that lifting the ban is unlikely to have any significant effect on the readiness of the armed forces, The Times reported.

A ban on gay men, lesbians and bisexuals openly serving in the military was lifted in 2011.

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