PHOENIX — A transgender woman in Phoenix has filed a formal complaint against CVS with the Arizona Board of Pharmacy, after she said a pharmacist refused to fill her hormone prescriptions and humiliated her in front of other customers.
In a blog on the ACLU of Arizona website, Hilde Hall said it was the first time she filled the prescription for hormone therapy.
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"I was finally going to start seeing my body reflect my gender identity and the woman I've always known myself to be," Hall said.
Hall said the pharmacist loudly questioned her need for the medication and wouldn't give her a clear reason why he wouldn't fill the prescription, KSAZ reports.
"I nearly started crying in the middle of the store. I didn't want to answer why I had been prescribed this hormone therapy combination by my doctor," Hall wrote. "I felt like the pharmacist was trying to out me as transgender in front of strangers. I just froze and worked on holding back the tears."
Hall also said the pharmacist refused to give her back the doctor’s note so that she could go to another pharmacy.
Hall said she called the CVS customer service complaint line twice, and when she didn’t hear back, she filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.
CVS said in a statement to CNN the pharmacist violated company policy and has been fired.
Steve Kilar, communications director with the ACLU of Arizona, said CVS spoke with Hilde over the phone on Friday after the incident.
The ACLU of Arizona issued the following statement:
“Hilde appreciates that CVS took her experience seriously. She spoke with a CVS representative today who offered a sincere apology on behalf the company and said that the pharmacist who mistreated Hilde acted outside of the company’s guidelines. Hilde hopes that CVS will make its nondiscrimination policies public, so that transgender and non-binary customers have some assurance the corporation will take appropriate action if similar discrimination occurs in the future.”