By Georgia Hermiston
I’ve never met Amy Eileen Hamm, but her story feels personal. As a woman, a mother, and someone who’s spent years navigating the unspoken rules of what we’re “allowed” to say, her firing from Vancouver Coastal Health on March 27, 2025, hit me hard. After 13 years as a registered nurse, Amy lost her job—not because she mistreated a patient, not because she failed at her work, but because she dared to say out loud what many of us quietly think: men are not women. For that, she was stripped of her livelihood, her reputation dragged through the mud, and her voice branded a threat. As a woman, I can’t help but ask: when did standing up for ourselves become a crime?
Amy’s troubles started back in 2020, when she co-sponsored a billboard in Vancouver that simply said, “I J.K. Rowling.” It was a nod to a writer who’s spoken up for women’s spaces—spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and shelters that I, like so many others, have relied on to feel safe. That billboard didn’t last long. Complaints poured in, calling Amy transphobic, and soon the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) came knocking. They didn’t care that she was an exemplary nurse with no patient complaints. They cared about her words—words she wrote and spoke outside of work, on her own time, about biology and women’s rights.
For years, they investigated her. They pored over her articles, her podcast, every tweet and post where she said things like transgender women aren’t the same as biological women. By March 13, 2025, after a grueling 21-day hearing, the BCCNM decided she’d committed “professional misconduct.” Her statements, they said, were “discriminatory and derogatory,” stirring up “fear, contempt, and outrage” against transgender people. Two weeks later, Vancouver Coastal Health fired her without severance. No warning, no second chance—just gone.
I keep thinking about what this means for women like me. Amy wasn’t yelling slurs or harassing anyone. She was raising questions—reasonable ones—about how we define womanhood and protect our rights. Rights that generations of women fought for, rights tied to our bodies, our experiences, our realities. I’m not a scientist, but I know I’m a woman because of my biology, not just because I say so. Amy said that too, and now she’s paying the price. It makes me wonder: are we allowed to talk about our own lives anymore? Or do we have to stay silent, nod along, and hope no one notices we’re scared?
What stings most is how alone Amy must feel. I’ve felt that too—the sinking realization that speaking up could cost you friends, family, or a job. Women are taught early to keep the peace, to soften our edges, to avoid trouble. But trouble found Amy anyway. She didn’t back down, though. She’s still fighting, promising to defend free speech and women’s sex-based rights. That takes guts—guts I’m not sure I’d have if it were me.
Her firing isn’t just about her. It’s a warning to every woman who’s ever hesitated before hitting “send” on a post, who’s wondered if her opinion might cross some invisible line. The BCCNM and Vancouver Coastal Health didn’t just punish Amy—they sent a message: step out of bounds, and we’ll take everything. It’s chilling to think that a nurse with an impeccable record, someone who spent years caring for others, could be erased because she wouldn’t surrender her voice.
I don’t have all the answers about gender or identity. I don’t claim to. But I know this: women deserve to speak about our lives without fear. We deserve to say what’s true for us, even if it’s messy or unpopular. Amy Eileen Hamm’s story isn’t over—she’s got an appeal coming, and a fire in her that hasn’t dimmed. As a woman, I’m rooting for her. Because if she loses, we all do.
Georgia Hermiston is a registered nurse and a freelance writer for Veritas Expositae
You can reach her at Georgia.hermiston@veritasexpositae.com
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