Child Protective Services Revokes Parental Custody Over Gender Transition

In a controversial and heart-wrenching case, Montana's Child Protective Services has been accused of forcibly transporting a 14-year-old girl from her family in Montana to Wyoming for gender transition treatment, leading to a complete revocation of her parents' custody.

The family's media representative, Mattie Watkins, has disclosed a distressing account to The Gateway Pundit involving the Kolstad family of Montana.

Todd and Krista Kolstad have been embroiled in a legal and emotional struggle for their 14-year-old daughter after Montana CPS took drastic action that is tantamount to "kidnapping."

In April 2023, the Montana legislature passed State Bill 99, which banned the medical transitioning of minors. However, a series of events unfolded in August that significantly impacted the Kolstad family.

Their daughter was transported to Wyoming, a state with different laws regarding the medical transition of minors, by the Montana CPS for treatment of her sudden onset "gender dysphoria," despite the parents' express disapproval.

In August 2023, police informed the Kolstads of a text message from their daughter claiming she was suicidal. They were notified by police that their daughter had allegedly ingested drain cleaner and taken an overdose of ibuprofen.

 

"We even moved from Flathead County in west Montana to a much smaller town in Valley County in east Montana, hoping that this will give our daughter a fresh start in a new school system and new environment. On August 18, 2023, we received a call from our local city police. We were informed that our 14-year-old daughter was texting a friend that she had met at a school track meet, saying she wanted to kill herself.

"It should be noted our daughter had only met this child once face to face several months prior and had only phone conversations with her ever since. We took this threat seriously and spoke to our daughter. However, we knew she was struggling with anxiety since school was about to start on Monday. She was also very angry with us because we told her she needed to put her two-week notice in at her summer job so she could focus on starting the 9th grade, Todd said.

The hospital found no evidence of drain cleaner and ibuprofen, which was later confirmed by a negative toxicology report. Despite this, the girl, who now wished to be called "Leo" and use male pronouns, was admitted for observation, during which the staff ignored the Kolstads' objections based on their faith and values.

Krista said in a video, "The hospital continued to call our daughter Leo, even though she's a minor, and after I stated it's against our wishes, our religion, and our core family values, the hospital told me to call their lawyer if I have an issue, as they will do what the patient tells them."

"I said to them, according to State Bill 99, they may not under the law provide transgender care nor transition our child. Their response was, they are not providing surgery or hormones, so they're operating in the gray area of the law. I further explained that my understanding of the law was a minor is a minor, and there's no difference between a four-year-old and a 14-year-old, and we prefer to be called by her birth name."

Further complicating the matter, a hospital aide discussed "top surgery" (elective double mastectomy) with the girl, leading to a complaint from Krista Kolstad.

"The hospital put our daughter on 24-hour supervision because this was a suicide threat. The hospital placed an aide outside her door who began talking about having top surgery and how she identified as nonbinary. I objected and reported it as inappropriate to the doctor on duty. At that point, I was told, why are you not more concerned that your daughter is trying to harm herself than what the aide is talking about?"

Montana CPS and hospital staff consistently dismissed the Kolstads' concerns and authority as parents. Despite their willingness to provide mental health care, their daughter was eventually transported to Wyoming for treatment.

Nurses repeatedly dismissed her as "just the stepmom" and undermined her parental authority. Krista has been in her daughter's life since she was about seven years old when she married Todd in 2017.

The Kolstads agreed to inpatient care and counseling to address their daughter's historic mental health issues but expressed concern at the idea of sending her to Wyoming, which has no laws against "transitioning" children."

After a last-minute notification of an available bed in Wyoming, and without the parents' consent, CPS and police presented a court order taking custody of the girl, citing the parents' refusal to provide medical care. Communication with their daughter was cut off.

"Court dates were set and the Kolstads were assigned a public defender who advised them to "play nice" with CPS," Watkins said.

Following her transport to Wyoming, the Kolstad's daughter was subjected to social transition measures like chest binding and is now under consultation for birth control to halt her menses, actions that align with a model criticized as a fast track from social to medical transition.

"On September 27, a judge temporarily blocked SB 99 pending a lawsuit filed by patients and medical professionals. Since then, she has been given a chest binder, which can restrict breathing, break skin and bruise or fracture ribs. She is currently in consultation for birth control "menstrual therapy" to halt her menstrual cycle," said Watkins.

The case takes a further international twist as the Kolstads' daughter may be sent to live with her biological mother in Canada who has been an absent parent for the past seven years, and also where Dr. Wallace Wong, a psychiatrist with a controversial stance on treating "trans" kids in foster care, practices.

Wong has previously been quoted as encouraging parents to use drastic measures to shorten wait times for gender transition treatments.

Watkins wrote, "Also in Canada is Dr. Wallace Wong - a perfect example of the risk of malpractice to troubled, sex-confused kids placed in government care. In addition to his private practice, the psychiatrist is responsible for children currently in the care of B.C.'s Ministry of Family and Child Development.

"A court-reported transcript of a talk Wong gave to parents in 2019 shows him bragging about a 125% increase in "trans" kids in foster care since 2010, bringing the total from 4 to 500. In 2019, there were 5,713 - 6,263 kids in B.C. foster care, making 7.98% of them "trans" compared to 0.33% of the population according to Statistics Canada. They were closer in line with government data in 2010 when there were 8,264 kids in B.C. foster care. The four "trans" kids reported by Wong would come to 0.44%.

"Wong, who has privileges in California and trains doctors for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), then scared parents with the lie that "trans-kids" are at greater risk of suicide and coached them on how to manipulate long wait times by having their kids threaten to kill themselves."

Originally published at WND News Center.