An Arizona pharmacist has been fired after allegedly refusing to fill a transgender woman’s prescription for hormone therapy.

Hilde Hall, a transgender woman living outside of Phoenix, said she was thrilled to receive her first-ever prescription for hormone therapy from her doctor in April. The therapy, she said, was meant to help her body align better with her gender identity.

“I was finally going to start seeing my body reflect my gender identity and the woman I’ve always known myself to be.” Ms Hall wrote in a blog post for the ACLU.

But when she arrived at her local CVS to fill the prescription, she said, the pharmacist refused to complete her request. Instead, he repeatedly questioned her – loudly, and in front of the other customers – about why she needed the prescription in the first place.

“I felt like the pharmacist was trying to out me as transgender in front of strangers,” she wrote. “I just froze and worked on holding back the tears.”

Eventually, she said, she left the store and called her doctor for help. But even her doctor could not get the pharmacist to fill the prescription without an explicit reason why. The doctor wound up calling the prescription in to a local Walgreens instead, where it was filled without issue.

Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade A marcher hold a sign that reads "Love is Love is Love" on the National Mall with the Washington Monument in the background during the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Marchers unfurl a huge rainbow flag as they prepare to march in the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Marchers gather to hear speakers at the end of the Los Angeles LGBTQ #ResistMarch AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Gil Mendez, of San Francisco, holds a sign to honor the victims of the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando as he marches during the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade An demonstrator looks on as LGBT members and their supporters take part of the Equality March for Unity AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade A marcher listens to speakers at the end of the Los Angeles LGBTQ #ResistMarch AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade LGBT members and their supporters take part of the Equality March for Unity AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade A marcher mugs for the camera during the Los Angeles LGBTQ #ResistMarch AP

Ms Hall said she later reached out to CVS’ corporate complaint line several times, but received no response to her concerns.

In a statement, CVS apologised to Ms Hall for the incident, and for failing to follow up sooner.

“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, nondiscrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care,” the company said.

The company said their failure to respond to Ms Hall’s complaints was due to an “unintentional oversight”.

“We pride ourselves in addressing customer concerns in a timely manner and we are taking steps to prevent this isolated occurrence from happening again,” it said.

Pride: Moving social experiment reveals the extent of LGBT+ discrimination in the workplace

Ms Hall said she had filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy. She asked the company to make it clear to their employees, through training and written policies, that transgender people should be treated with respect.

“No one should be denied health care because of who they are," said Josh Block, a staff attorney with the ACLU.

He added: "No one should have to experience what Hilde did, and yet it is all too common for transgender people and people seeking prescriptions for reproductive health care around the country."

A 2011 report from the National Centre for Transgender Equality found widespread discrimination against transgender and gender nonconforming people in the medical field.

One-fifth of the more than 6,000 people surveyed said they been refused medical care due to their gender identity, with even higher numbers among people of colour. Nearly 30 per cent said they had postponed medical care when they were sick or injured due to discrimination.

“Participants in our study reported barriers to care whether seeking preventive medicine, routine and emergency care, or transgender-related services,” the authors wrote at the time.