Former New York Assistant AG Says She Was Fired After Questioning Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

A former assistant attorney general says she was fired from her job in the New York Attorney General’s Office after repeatedly speaking out against gender-affirming care for minors, a claim that has sparked debate over free speech and workplace rules in government legal offices.

Glenna Goldis, a consumer fraud attorney who worked in the New York Attorney General’s Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, says she was dismissed on Jan. 22 after publicly and internally raising concerns about what she described as “pediatric gender medicine,” including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical procedures for adolescents. Goldis said she believes such treatments may harm vulnerable patients and has questioned how they are promoted and regulated.

According to Goldis, she received multiple warnings from supervisors to stop speaking and writing critically about gender-affirming care while employed in the AG’s office. She says she was accused of engaging in “disruptive public speech” and was ultimately terminated for violating internal rules regarding employee conduct and public statements. Goldis framed her firing as a consequence of her efforts to raise what she saw as consumer protection concerns.

The New York Attorney General’s Office, led by Letitia James, confirmed that an employee had been terminated, saying the office has established rules and protocols for employees and that repeated disregard for those standards can disrupt operations. The office said it enforces these rules to protect the integrity of its work on behalf of all New Yorkers.

Goldis, who identifies as a lesbian and said she cares about the well-being of gender nonconforming youth, has argued that her objections were rooted in legal and consumer-fraud concerns rather than bias. She also said she believes there should be scrutiny of how pediatric gender treatments are represented and administered.

The controversy unfolds amid a broader national debate over gender-affirming care for minors. New York Attorney General James has been active in defending access to such care, including leading a coalition of states in a lawsuit against federal attempts to restrict it, arguing that decisions about medical care should be made by patients, families and doctors.

Supporters of gender-affirming care point to medical associations and legal protections at the state level that back such treatments as essential and evidence-based, while critics raise questions about long-term outcomes and consent. In New York, state law and directives from the Attorney General’s Office have emphasized nondiscrimination and continued provision of gender-affirming services by hospitals and providers.

The former attorney said she is considering her legal options, asserting that her dismissal may have violated her rights. She also vowed to continue speaking about her concerns despite losing her job.

The New York Attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for additional comment on the specifics of Goldis’s firing or her allegations.