Informed Consent Doesn't Go Far Enough: The Case for Hormones Over-the-Counter

The following article was originally posted to Assigned Media. It has been syndicated with the permission of the original publisher.

Certain terms have been changed to better reflect the original intent of the author. In particular, the word 'transsexual' has been added back to the text.

Originally published Oct. 23, 2025

By Jane Migliara Brigham

Why do we rely on doctors to address our basic medical needs?

We are taught that doctors are there to help us understand what is wrong with our bodies, and that they can help us get better.  In doing so, they provide a noble service.

Living as a transsexual proves that this is a lie.

We transsexuals need external medicine to live with dignity.  This medicine is easy to use and hard to mess up.  In some parts of the world, including Brazil, Spain, and Thailand, estrogen and other hormones for trans women can be purchased without a prescription.  After all, half the world’s population produces estrogen naturally, so it’s hard to argue that it’s dangerous. 

Despite this, in much of the developed world, obtaining bioidentical estrogen and testosterone through legal channels requires a prescription.  That means going through a doctor.  

When doctors come between you and your medicine, they get to set the rules.  They get to provide the medicine they want, at the dose they want, and with whatever requirements they want.  The doctor holds a monopoly of medicine over the patient.

This is a big problem for transsexuals.  When doctors can come between us and our transition, our rights are in their hands.  For decades, they used this power to only allow those of us to transition who would assimilate into the wider society.  They expected patients to be heterosexual, to pass as cis, and to avoid associating with fellow transsexuals.

As a result, the vast majority of people who wanted to transition were prevented from doing so.