by Kurt Mahlburg
A 14-year-old Montana girl has been taken from her family by the state’s child protective services after deciding to identify as a boy and will soon be sent to Canada, according to the family.
The harrowing story of Todd and Krista Kolstad’s custody battle for their troubled teen—who is Todd’s biological daughter and Krista’s step-daughter—was recently told at length by news site Reduxx.
It began in August last year when Jennifer (a pseudonym) reported experiencing suicidal ideation while at school. She had already faced bullying at a previous school and had suffered ongoing mental health challenges, including attention-seeking behavior.
That evening, a Montana Child and Family Services (CFS) case worker visited the family home. Jennifer told the case worker she had consumed painkillers and toilet bowl cleaner while attempting to commit suicide earlier that day.
Having already restricted her access to such items, Jennifer’s parents (pictured above) doubted her story but took her to the local hospital all the same. Blood tests showed that Jennifer had no toxins in her system.
Hospital staff admitted Jennifer as an in-patient and put her on 24/7 suicide watch. They also affirmed her chosen identity as a boy named “Leo” against the religious beliefs, values, and wishes of her parents.
Krista recounts arriving one day at the hospital and hearing an aide assigned to Jennifer’s care encouraging her to consider top surgery. Krista says her authority as a parent was constantly undermined by the staff. Despite Krista and Todd’s wishes, nurses failed to limit Jennifer’s TV and phone time, allowed her to eat large quantities of junk food, and did not encourage her to complete her schoolwork.
The Kolstads agreed with Child Health Services that Jennifer would benefit from specialized residential care and counselling, and they were told this would either be at one of six facilities in Montana or, in a less likely scenario, at one in neighboring Wyoming.
Suspicious about the Wyoming possibility, Krista and Todd researched that state’s laws on transitioning minors, only to learn child gender legislation was far more lax there than in their own state of Montana.
Their worst fears were soon realized. CFS arrived at the Kolstad residence accompanied by police, and before any of Krista or Todd’s questions were answered—even about the name of the facility—custody papers were served to Krista and Todd, and Jennifer was taken out of their care.
They were barred from seeing their daughter during the move and were only allowed indirect communication with Jennifer via her counsellor during her stay in Wyoming.
Todd and Krista Kolstad had their 14 yr old daughter kidnapped in MONTANA by CPS and CPS is transitioning her now.
They made this video to tell their story but a court ordered them to be silent. I made a copy before it was removed.
You need to watch all of it. Horrifying. This… pic.twitter.com/qy2ZZXxoWV
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 29, 2024
Jennifer has since been moved to a facility in Montana, and the Kolstads have been attending monthly court meetings with CFS to determine the way forward.
However, they received the devastating news in late January that, since they were unwilling to let Jennifer live as a boy—which was in her “therapeutic best interest”—the court had given full custody of Jennifer over to CFS for six months.
CFS now plans to place Jennifer with her birth mother Christine in Canada.
For her part, Christine had left Jennifer with Todd soon after Jennifer was born, and Christine has barely been in contact since. The Kolstads have grave concerns about Christine’s fitness as a parent and provided Reduxx with a statement from a licensed professional counsellor that depicts Christine as a violent, neglectful, and abusive mother to her other children.
In sharing their story, Krista and Todd have defied a judge’s order to remain silent on their case, feeling they have nothing left to lose.
They say:
We will continue to fight. We will never give up on our daughter and for what we believe is morally right. We will continue to tell our story, even though we are currently in contempt of court, and try to keep other families from going through this. Our greatest fear is that our daughter is now going to become a victim of this system and eventually take her own life.
They are now sharing their story in the hopes that they might get their daughter back.
For speaking out, the Kolstads say that they have been told by a credible source that they may face arrest in Montana if they return to the state (they are currently caring for a sick relative in Ohio).
The Kolstads’ story is heartbreaking, and cases like theirs are creating growing backlash against the transgender agenda.
Just last week, the Ohio senate overrode a veto by their governor to pass legislation shielding children from rushed transgender treatment. In total, 38 states have passed bills in recent years that provide some level of protection to children and/or parents from so-called “gender affirming care.”
Last September, 21-year-old Luka Hein from Minnesota became the fifth detransitioner to sue her medical providers for rushing her into a drug-and-surgery “transition.” Luka is being represented by the Center for American Liberty, the same non-profit that has taken on the cases of Chloe Cole and Layla Jane.
As the cases of girls like Luka, Chloe, and Layla are litigated—hopefully by commonsense judges—government agencies and medical professionals will be far more reticent to foist trans ideology onto children and families.
The number of detransitioners is growing, and along with them, the number of organizations that offer help to parents of children and teens impacted by the epidemic of rapid-onset gender dysphoria.
There is hope—if parents know where to look, and if the rest of us continue to speak up against the madness.
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Kurt Mahlburg is an emerging Australian voice on culture and the Christian faith. He has a passion for both the philosophical and the personal, drawing on his background as a graduate architect, a primary school teacher, a missionary, and a young adults pastor. Since 2018, Kurt has been the Research and Features Editor at the Canberra Declaration. He is also a freelance writer and a regular contributor at Mercator, the Spectator Australia, Caldron Pool, and Intellectual Takeout. He is married to Angie, who hails from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Photo “Todd and Krista Kolstad” by Robby Starbuck.
