The Texas Senate on Aug. 27 passed House Bill 25, which allows pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription if they follow rules established by the State Board of Pharmacy. The final vote on the bill’s passage was 20 ayes and 6 nays.

“By eliminating the need for a prescription, this measure ultimately offers all Texas greater medical freedom,” Senator Hall said while moving suspension and urging passage. Hall argued ivermectin has a strong global safety record and said the bill would help rural Texans with limited physician access.

Opponents and several medical professionals on the floor argued the bill removes physician oversight for a drug that, while approved for some human parasitic infections, is not approved as a COVID‑19 treatment and can have serious side effects. Senator Cook, who spoke against the bill, said: “Ivermectin…is not safe or effective as a cure all for COVID, cancer, dementia, or the flu.”

Senator Johnson objected on legal grounds, saying the FDA — which Johnson described as responsible for designating prescription status for drugs — has classified ivermectin as a prescription (legend) drug. “Only they can determine whether or not a drug can be sold without a prescription,” Johnson said on the floor, adding, “We are defying the law here.” The transcript records Johnson’s objection but does not include any departmental legal opinion on whether Texas may change prescription status for an FDA‑designated legend drug.

Physician‑senator Schwartner and other senators described the drug’s history as an anti‑parasitic used globally, including for river blindness, and discussed off‑label uses in clinical practice. Schwartner explained that “many, many, many drugs are utilized off label,” arguing physicians sometimes prescribe outside original FDA indications.

The Senate suspended rules and proceeded through second and third readings. The roll calls recorded a series of suspensions and final passage votes; the final passage was recorded as 20–6. The transcript does not include text of any implementing rules the State Board of Pharmacy would adopt nor an executive or judicial response to the state‑level action.

Floor debate combined clinical testimony from physician‑senators, policy arguments about rural access, and legal questions about federal prescription authority. The bill’s passage leaves unresolved whether the law will prompt administrative, legal or enforcement actions related to federal prescription statutes and FDA determinations.