- A transgender woman claims that a CVS pharmacist refused to fill her hormone prescription, giving no explanation for his refusal.
- Hilde Hall detailed her experience in a blog post for the ACLU, which has since gained traction online.
- In her post, Hall claimed that she reached out to CVS multiple times but got no response.
- She also wrote that she has since filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.
- According to reports, the person who refused to fill her prescription is no longer employed by CVS.
- CVS apologized to Hall in a statement provided to INSIDER.
A transgender woman from Arizona claims that a CVS pharmacist refused to fill her hormone prescription in April, giving no explanation for his refusal, as first reported by The Arizona Republic.
On Thursday, Hilde Hall detailed her experience in a blog post for the ACLU, which has since gained traction online.
"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," Hall wrote.
She said that the pharmacist, who worked at the Fountain Hills, Arizona, location of the chain, did not explain himself.
"He did not give me a clear reason for the refusal," she said. "He just kept asking, loudly and in front of other CVS staff and customers, why I was given the prescriptions."
Arizona is one of six states in which a pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription on the grounds of personal religious or moral objection. In Arizona, the law applies to "emergency contraception or any drug or device intended to inhibit or prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum," according to the National Women's Law Center.
In her post, Hall wrote that the experience was upsetting.
"Embarrassed and distressed, I nearly started crying in the middle of the store," she wrote. "I didn't want to answer why I had been prescribed this hormone therapy combination by my doctor. 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."
Ultimately, Hall called her doctor who had the prescription transferred to a local Walgreens where it was filled without an issue, she wrote.
Hall claims she called the CVS complaint line "multiple times," but no one offered her an apology or addressed her concerns.
She has since filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy and used her blog post as a means of "publicly asking CVS to take action and apologize."
In a statement provided to INSIDER, a representative for CVS addressed the situation.
"CVS Health extends its sincere apologies to Ms. Hall for her experience at our pharmacy in Fountain Hills, Arizona last spring," a representative for the company said. "We also apologize for not appropriately following up on Ms. Hall's original complaint to CVS, which was due to an unintentional oversight."
They also confirmed that the pharmacist who refused to fill Hall's prescription is no longer employed by CVS.
"The conduct of the pharmacist, who is no longer employed by CVS, violated company policies and does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, non-discrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care," they said.
Hall's story is not the first of its kind. Last month, a pharmacist in Arizona denied a woman a doctor-prescribed medication meant to end a pregnancy that was not viable.
For more great stories, head to INSIDER's homepage.
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