The Lack of Barriers to Minors Ordering Cross-Sex Hormones Online

Minors pursuing sex-denying interventions may be able to obtain estrogen and testosterone from online pharmacies and other sources that often do not appear to require prescriptions or information about patient age, let alone age verification.

Such vendors may be used to bypass restrictions on access to so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors, thereby placing children at risk by exposing them to known and unknown dangers that proper Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight is designed to detect. The FDA and other appropriate federal agencies should further investigate online pharmacies selling hormones without requiring prescriptions, as well as take appropriate enforcement actions against any that are violating FDA rules.

States should investigate and, where permitted, prosecute unlawful online sellers, while also passing new legislation, as needed, to enhance oversight of vendors whose practices violate or circumvent state restrictions on cross-sex hormones for minors.

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