A Catholic family is fighting Massachusetts for custody of their daughter, alleging that a public school socially transitioned their gender-dysphoric teen without their consent, securing a temporary halt to cross-sex hormone therapy. Joseph and Arlene Kutzko sued state officials after the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) took custody of their daughter, Sophie, in December 2024.
The issue began when officials at Algonquin Regional High School started treating Sophie as a boy without the Kutzkos’ consent. The couple opposes transgender ideology on religious grounds. When the parents protested, state officials took then-15-year-old Sophie out of their custody, in part because of the Kutzkos’ refusal to affirm the gender identity of their daughter. A Massachusetts judge issued a temporary block on providing testosterone for Sophie last week, reported New Boston Post.
A court hearing on the custody battle is scheduled for Oct. 29. At present, the DCF has implemented a restraining order preventing communication between the now-17-year-old Sophie and her family, including her parents and brother. Vernadette Broyles, the Kutzkos’ attorney, told the Boston Herald that an unidentified adult helped Sophie get legal help to file the restraining order.
The attorney also alleged that DCF put the teen on birth control and psychiatric drugs and placed her in a boy’s dormitory. "Dad is a scientist and has science-based objections to the idea of ever telling a child that you can change sex because that’s impossible, as well as faith-based objections to the idea of a child rejecting how God has made her,” Broyles was quoted as saying.
“And of course, they have medical objections to the idea of the child ever getting cross-sex hormones, which has irreversible and damaging effects on a female’s body.”