Joseph and Arlene Kutzko are fighting to regain custody of their 17-year-old daughter after Massachusetts authorities removed her from their home last year.
The Northborough couple, who are Catholic, told Fox’s Lighthouse Faith podcast they have been completely cut off from Sophie since child protective services took her in 2024. They claim the removal came after staff at Sophie’s high school exposed her to “LGBTQ teachings in topics that conflict with our Catholic beliefs” and eventually counseled her on gender transition without their knowledge.
“We didn’t find out until after Sophie was removed. It came on like a tornado,” Joseph Kutzko said on the podcast.
The parents said they had no idea what was happening until the school alerted state authorities, who then removed Sophie from their care allegedly because they would not recognize their biological female child as a boy. The Kutzkos have since aligned with the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, a conservative advocacy group that has taken up their cause.
Attorney Vernadette Broyless, who represents the family through the campaign, joined the parents on the Lighthouse podcast to discuss the legal battle. She argued that high-dose testosterone does not qualify as “ordinary” medical care and therefore requires parental consent or court permission.
“We are actively fighting in court to keep them from really poisoning this young lady with testosterone,” Broyless said.
The parents have not been found guilty of child abuse, though claims of physical abuse at home were made against Joseph Kutzko, who was arrested. Those claims have since been disproven, according to the podcast.
Despite the lack of substantiated abuse findings, the couple remains barred from speaking with their daughter. Broyless characterized this separation as “entirely the choice of this minor child.”
The family and their attorney have managed to secure a temporary block on testosterone treatments for Sophie while the case proceeds. Broyless confirmed on the podcast that they have prevented the state from administering the hormone pending 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,” Arlene Kutzko said. “We’re begging the state, ‘Please, do not give our daughter testosterone.'”
The case highlights ongoing tensions between parental rights, religious beliefs, and state authority over gender-affirming care for minors, with the Kutzkos’ situation becoming a focal point for conservative advocacy groups challenging such interventions.