“I regret to say that I lost my case against The BC College of Nurses and Midwives. The fight isn’t over.”
A disciplinary panel of the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives has ruled that nurse Amy Hamm committed “unprofessional conduct” after putting up an “I love JK Rowling” billboard and posting statements online in defense of womens rights, which the panel viewed as being “discriminatory and/or derogatory.”
The panel took issue with three written article by Hamm and a podcast interview she did in which she identified herself as a nurse while making the “discriminatory and derogatory comments.” They said that this was a reflection not only on Hamm but on the profession of nursing. Hamm believes that there are only two sexes, male and female, while the College apparently does not.
Hamm’s comments deemed “discriminatory and derogatory” included “trans activists determined to infiltrate or destroy women-only spaces,” and “the falsehood that babies can be ‘born in the wrong body’ or that humans can change their sex.”
The decision stated that “The Panel finds the Respondent’s statements regarding ‘the falsehood that babies can be “born in the wrong body” or that humans can change their sex’, that everyone ‘who believes in wrong bodies or innate genders’ would rather devastate a child, that men cannot change, that gender identity ideology is akin to a ‘Satanic Panic craze’, that lesbians do not have penises, that a gender soul does not exist, and that men cannot literally become women are discriminatory to transgender people because they effectively deny the existence of transgender people. As well, the Panel finds the statements that suggest that transgender people would rather harm a child than acknowledge that men cannot change, and that gender identity ideology is analogous to a Satanic craze are derogatory to transgender people. The Respondent is identified as a nurse educator in the biographical footer at the end of the article.”
The panel did not, however, make a finding of professional misconduct in regards to Hamm’s posts on Twitter, now known as X, with the decision stating, “The Panel is not prepared to rely on the high-profile nature of the Respondent’s writings or her frequent references to her status as a nursing professional as to do so would effectively prevent her from making any public statements because they would automatically have a sufficient nexus to the profession of nursing.”
The legal saga began after Hamm, a Vancouver-area nurse, co-sponsored a billboard in September 2020 that read “I ❤️ JK Rowling,” the famed British author who has spoken out extensively on protecting women’s spaces. The billboard, which was up for 30 hours, was quickly removed after a Vancouver city councillor condemned it as transphobic and the advertising company pulled it. During its time up, the billboard was defaced with paintballs.
A complaint was lodged against Hamm with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) claiming that she was transphobic and unfit for her profession. The complaint called for Hamm to be removed from her current position in the nursing field and barred from future roles in it. A second complaint, filed anonymously, was filed against Hamm accusing her of “promoting and stoking hate speech towards trans and gender-diverse communities.” None of the complainants had ever been patients of Hamm’s, all of them simply took issue with her online speech.
The BCCNM’s Inquiry Committee investigated after it was referred to them, resulting in a 332-page report on Hamm’s online activities and a citation against Hamm for alleged “discriminatory and derogatory statements” that constituted professional misconduct. Between September 2022 and March 2024, Hamm appeared for over 20 days of discipline hearings before the BCCNM.
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms attorney Lisa Bildy stated, “We are reviewing the 115-page decision to determine whether an appeal is warranted. Obviously, we are disappointed that any of Ms. Hamm’s off-duty gender critical advocacy was found to be within the purview of her regulator; however, we are pleased that the vast majority of Ms. Hamm’s commentary was found not to have a sufficient nexus to her profession to attract a disciplinary finding.”
In response to the decision, Hamm wrote, “I regret to say that I lost my case against The BC College of Nurses and Midwives. The fight isn’t over. I will always fight for free speech and women’s sex-based rights. I’ll have more to say in the near future.”