A Catholic couple in Massachusetts is seeking custody of their transgender teenager, alleging that child-welfare officials removed the 17-year-old from their home and allowed gender-affirming care without their consent.
Joseph and Arlene Kutzko say their daughter, Sophie, was taken into state custody in 2024 after they declined to affirm her male identity. The parents, who spoke with Fox’s Lighthouse Faith podcast, say they have been completely cut off from Sophie ever since.
According to the Kutzkos, educators at Sophie’s high school in Northborough introduced her to LGBTQ-related material that conflicted with the family’s Catholic beliefs and later advised her about transitioning.
The couple said they were unaware of those discussions until school officials contacted Massachusetts child protective services, which subsequently removed Sophie from their care.
“We didn’t find out until after Sophie was removed. It came on like a tornado,” Joseph Kutzko said.
The family has since received legal support from the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, a conservative advocacy organization.
The group is challenging any plan to provide Sophie with high-dose testosterone. Attorney Vernadette Broyless argued on the Lighthouse Faith podcast that such treatment is not “ordinary” medical care and therefore requires parental consent or authorization from a court.
“We are actively fighting in court to keep them from really poisoning this young lady with testosterone,” Broyless said.
The Kutzkos have not been convicted of child abuse. Joseph Kutzko was arrested following allegations of physical abuse in the home, but the claims were later disproven, according to the Fox podcast.
Despite that, the parents remain barred from speaking with Sophie. Broyless said the decision was “entirely the choice of this minor child.”
For now, Broyless said, the parents and their attorney have obtained an order preventing the state from administering testosterone while they await a final hearing.
“The most important thing is to bring her back to our family, but a shorter-term goal is to prevent them from giving her testosterone … We’re begging the state, ‘Please, do not give our daughter testosterone.’”
