October 21, 2022
Nurse’s licensing hearing a threat to sex-based rights for women
On Monday October 24, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives resumes a “precedent-setting” regulatory hearing against Amy Hamm, a registered nurse whose license is at risk for allegedly making derogatory remarks about transgender people.
Hamm’s lawyer called the case “unique and precedent setting,” since her behaviour on the job is not in question. The disciplinary action came after Hamm co-sponsored a billboard reading, “I [heart] J.K. Rowling.” Rowling ignited public debate with an article on her concerns for women in reference to ‘trans activism.
The College citation against Ms Hamm states: “Between approximately July 2018 and March 2021, you made discriminatory and derogatory statements regarding transgender people, while identifying yourself as a nurse or nurse educator. These statements were made across various online platforms, including but not limited to, podcasts, videos, published writings and social media.” The complainants in Ms. Hamms case are not patients, but members of the public, one of whom remains anonymous.
In an April, 2022 article, Ms. Hamm wrote, “In my decade-long nursing career, I have never had a patient complaint, or otherwise received any type of workplace discipline.
“To the contrary, I loved my job and worked my way into leadership roles. I have worked with countless transgender patients. I am not transphobic by any reasonable or defensible definition of that word. Yet I now could lose my job because activists claim that I am a bigot.”
BC College of Nurses and Midwives argued that Ms. Hamm reinforced or potentially heightened the fear transgender people would have in accessing health care, contributing to inequality for this group. Counsel for the College, Michael Seaborn, asked: "Does the College seek to curtail Ms Hamm’s freedom of expression? In short,” he replied, "Yes...Ms. Hamm’s statements fall within established legal exceptions to freedom of expression."
Ms. Hamm’s lawyer Lisa Bildy, argued that rather, Ms. Hamm has, “... Waded into a raging public debate about a conflict of rights. Both sides claim to be erased, but one seems to wield all the cultural power. It is Hamm’s claim that women are being silenced for speaking up for their own rights and for the safeguarding of children.”
Upon learning about this case, Vancouver Lesbian Collective launched a campaign at sexbasedrights.ca, calling upon members of the public to send a postcard to the BC College of Nurses and Midwives and the BC Nurses Union to underscore the importance of public debate to protect women’s sex-based rights. Over 150 cards and over 100 emails were confirmed sent to the College, however the College disciplinary panel did not accept the cards as evidence that there are multiple perspectives at play in a real public debate.
Jacqueline Gullion, a member of Vancouver Lesbian Collective following the case, says this is an important case for women’s sex-based rights. Gullion says, “If women can't talk about sex differences in diagnosis, treatment, access and employment in health care, we can't talk about the inequalities that continue to be faced by women and girls. Sex matters in health care, and women need to be able to say so.”
The disciplinary hearing concerning Amy Hamm is scheduled to continue Monday, October 24 - Thursday, October 27 and January 10-13, 2023 via video conference.
Media contact
Jacqueline Gullion