Johnathan Edwards vs. transgender people

Johnathan Edwards is an American anesthesiologist, author, and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Johnathan James Edwards was born on May 13, 1969 and grew up in California. Edwards earned an associate’s degree at Victor Valley Community College.

Edwards competed in running, cycling, and motocross befor earning a bachelor’s degree in physiology at the University of California, Davis in 1993, followed by a medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1997. Edwards then completed residencies in internal medicine at the University of Nevada in 1998, in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Utah in 1999, in neurology at Lyon 1 Université Claude Bernard in France, and in anesthesiology at the University of South Florida in 2003.

Edwards lives part time in the South of France and is reportedly involved with the Dakar Rally, the Ag2R La Mondial professional cycling team, the Four Days of Dunkerque professional cycling race, and the Ronde Des Sables professional motorcycle race, in Dunkerque, France.

Edwards collaborated with Véronique Billat on training methods for running. They co-authored The Science of the Marathon and the Art of Variable Pace Running.

Edwards promotes “percutaneous hydrotomy,” a kind of injection therapy for pain that uses saline solution that is sometimes mixed with local anesthetics, vitamins, minerals, or other medications.

Edwards is also a staunch proponent of using the dissociative drug ketamine to treat depression and suicidal thoughts. Edwards was a visiting physician at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). Edwards is “the medical director at GDBA [Gavin de Becker and Associates], providing elite protection services for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and other political figures.” De Becker wrote a foreword for one of Edwards’ books.

Anti-trans activism

In 2024, Edwards was credited as section co-author of an amicus curiae brief submitted to the US Supreme Court by Terry Lee Fowler. The brief, titled “Brief for Larger Detransitioners Community,” supported Tennessee’s state ban on transgender healthcare for young people.

Diana F. Lutfi: primary author
Maia Abbruzzese (as “Maia Poet”): section co-author
Laura Collector (as Laura Wiley Haynes): section co-author
Johnathan Edwards: section co-author
Raheem Williams: co-author

Edwards said that work led to meeting ex-trans activist Chloe Brockman, aka “Chloe Cole.” Edwards wrote in 2025: “When Diana Lutfi, the civil rights lawyer who penned the Amicus Brief for the Skrmetti v. US case, invited me to attend the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, she introduced me to Chloe Cole. Diana had been involved in writing the Tennessee legislation which got challenged by the Supreme Court and organizing detransitioners like Chloe Cole along with other organizations to participate in this U.S. Supreme Court case.”

Selected writing by Edwards

Edwards, Johnathan (May 3, 2026). The Human Cost of the Transgender Experiment on Minors: Jonni Skinner’s Testimony Against Scott Wiener’s Bill SB 934. Johnathan Edwards MD Substack https://johnathanedwardsmd.substack.com/p/the-human-cost-of-the-transgender

Edwards, Johnathan (June 26, 2025). Talking with Detransitioner Chloe Cole. Johnathan Edwards MD Substack https://johnathanedwardsmd.substack.com/p/talking-with-detransitioner-chloe

Edwards, Johnathan; Lutfi, Diana (December 21, 2024). Skrmetti vs US Amicus Brief – Healthcare is Inherently Discriminatory For A Good Reason. Johnathan Edwards MD Substack https://johnathanedwardsmd.substack.com/p/skirmetti-vs-us-amicus-brief-healthcare

Edwards, Johnathan (December 9, 2024). Skirmetti vs. US (and the World): The Supreme Court, Transgender Rights, and the 14th Amendment, Part 2. Johnathan Edwards MD Substack https://johnathanedwardsmd.substack.com/p/skirmetti-vs-us-and-the-world-the-60a

Edwards, Johnathan (December 7, 2024). Skirmetti vs. US (and the World): The Supreme Court, Transgender Rights, and the 14th Amendment, Part 1. Johnathan Edwards MD Substack https://johnathanedwardsmd.substack.com/p/skirmetti-vs-us-and-the-world-the

Edwards, Johnathan and signatories (October 15, 2024). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE THE LARGER DETRANSITIONERS COMMUNITY INCLUDING PUBLIC OFFICIALS, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, AND RESEARCHERS IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS. US v. Skrmetti , No. 23-477 https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-477/328719/20241018182632065_241012a%20v2%20AC%20Brief%20for%20efiling.pdf

Books

Edwards, Johnathan (2025). Stopping Pain: A Simple, Revolutionary Way to Beat Chronic Pain. Regain your vitality with percutaneous hydrotomy. Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510783614

Edwards, Johnathan; Guez, Bernard (2024). Stopping Pain: Percutaneous (Per·cu·ta·ne·ous) Hydrotomy: A Revolutionary Approach to Beating Chronic Pain and Increasing Function. Self-published, ISBN 979-8891096837

Edwards, Johnathan (2023). The Revolutionary Ketamine: How a Little-Known Drug Can Cure Depression and Prevent Suicide. Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 978-1510777712

Edwards, Johnathan (2021). Suicide, COVID-19, and Ketamine: How a Little Known Drug May Save Lives. Tailwind Publications, ISBN 978-0978709457

Billat, Véronique; Edwards, Johnathan (2020). The Science of the Marathon and Art of Variable Pace Running. Self-published, ISBN 978-0978709426