Gerard Kevin Donovan, known publicly as G. Kevin Donovan, is a Catholic pediatric gastroenterologist and bioethicist who has testified against transgender healthcare in the Florida Dekker v. Weida case. He has previously written academic articles that are anti-transgender and from a conservative Christian perspective.

In Dekker v. Weida Donovan provided testimony that was erroneous in nature, such as suggesting that there is an official diagnosis of ‘transgenderism.’ Donovan also claimed in his testimony not to be a member of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), however leaked documents show he has attended meetings, been nominated for the board, and paid membership dues to ACPeds.

We may be making a fundamental mistake in approaching transgender phenomena, not as a disease or disorder, but at most a dysphoria that is a cause for affirmation. This contrasts with our approach to similar conditions claiming a mind-body divergence, such as anorexia nervosa or body integrity identity disorder

Donovan in a document on the ethics of inoformed consent, May 12, 2022

Education and Credentials

According to his LinkedIn, Donovan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Medicine from the University of Notre Dame (1966-1970), his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Oklahoma. A few years after that earned a degree in Bioethics. 

Donovan has been practicing medicine for over 30 years with a focus on pediatric gastroenterology. He is currently a senior clinical scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, a professor of bioethics at the Georgetown University Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics, and formerly - until 2020 - director of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics. He’s practiced medical bioethics across numerous different hospitals, and served as a chair for the Institutional Research Ethics Board.

He has received the Founder’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research and Medicine from the University of Tulsa and the Humanism in Medicine award from the Gold Foundation.

He has been quoted as an expert across numerous news sources, especially in matters pertaining to abortion.

Ideological and Institutional Affiliations

Donovan primarily operates out of his clinical and academic practices, where he publishes research articles that primarily have a conservative Catholic leaning on social issues, especially that of abortion. He signed onto a brief opposing abortion in the infamous Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that led to the overturning of abortion rights in the United States.

Anti-Trans Activism

Donovan has written academic works where he bemoaned the lack of ability to be openly homophobic, writing that tolerance “is thus a one-way street and a narrow one at that.” In the same article, he went on to use transgender people as an example of a negative outcome from tolerating homosexuality, and how being LGBTQ+ is a “deviation” from Catholic values.

Another article co-authored by Donovan openly calls for a lack of medical transition care for minors, citing common talking points in his defense such as the dangers of infertility. This article has been criticized for containing scientific inaccuracies.

Donovan’s work on transgender people has also been cited positively by the anti-trans outlet Gender Clinic News, as well as the Family Research Council’s outlet The Washington Stand.

Court or Legislative Appearances

Donovan was part of the amicus brief for the R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes vs EEOC & Stephens case concerning anti-trans discrimination. This brief contained misgendering of a trans woman and criticism about LGBTQ+ folk existing, especially in schools.

More notably and recently, however, was his testimony as an expert witness in the Florida Dekker v. Weida case, which resulted in the removal of gender affirming care from Medicaid. This testimony, according to journalist Zinnia Jones, contains many assertions that are questionable or erroneous, such as a statement that one can be diagnosed with “transgenderism,” in spite of no such diagnosis existing.

In this case, Donovan was asked whether he was a member of the American College of Pediatricians, a known anti-trans hate group. He denied having any such membership. However, recently linked documents with the organization show that he attended its inaugural meeting, was a nominee for the board of directors in 2009, that he served on a committee for medicine and morality in the organization, and that he paid membership dues in several different years. It is unclear what these documents mean in light of his testimony.

Further resources:

• LinkedIn
• The Mary Sue