CVS pharmacist denies hormones to trans woman
(Tommaso Boddi/Getty)
A transgender woman has spoken out after being denied access to her prescribed hormones by a pharmacist in Arizona.
Hilde Hall said she had been prescribed the medication by a hormone expert prior to visiting the pharmacist, at CVS pharmacy, where she was questioned her loudly in front of other customers.
The pharmacist reportedly also rejected her doctor’s requests to transfer the prescription to another location.
A marcher has their fingernails painted in the pink and blue transgender community colors at the Los Angeles Gay Pride Resist March, June 11, 2017 in Hollywood, California
(Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
In a blog post published on the ACLU of Arizona’s website, Hall wrote: “After years of working to affirm my identity in a world where transgender people are questioned constantly about how well they know themselves, the pharmacist refused to fill one of the prescriptions needed to affirm my identity.”
“He did not give me a clear reason for the refusal,” Hall wrote, “embarrassed and distressed, I nearly started crying in the middle of the store,” she continued.
Hall said that after the incident she contacted her doctor who called the prescription into a local Walgreens store, where the medication was given without hesitation.
Arizona is one of six states that allows pharmacies and pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription on religious or moral grounds.
Hall wrote that she’s lucky that her family and friends accept and support who she is. But added: “I don’t want to think about what might happen if this pharmacist mistreats a transgender person who does not have a good social support system.”
“CVS Health extends its sincere apologies to Ms. Hall for her experience at our pharmacy in Fountain Hills, Arizona last spring,” said Mike DeAngelis, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for CVS.
The statement said the pharmacist violated company policies and “does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, non discrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care.”
According to The Arizona Republic, the employee in question is no longer employed by CVS.
