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.
Todd Kolstad, a US Air Force veteran, said in a video, “Our 14-year-old daughter has struggled for quite some time in school from bullying. We have had many meetings over the years with the school systems trying to address these issues.”
“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.”
The Kolstad family is currently seeking funds for a private attorney to regain custody of their daughter, and donations are being solicited through a GiveSendGo campaign. You can donate HERE.
Krista said, “Todd and I love our daughter beyond words. We are not naive and understand that we have an adolescent girl who has struggled with mental health issues most of her life on our hands. The system has not helped our daughter. Instead, the system has taught her how to weaponize the system itself to receive what she wants.”
“We do not believe the system has tried to treat her mental health issues. Instead, it has forcefully focused on the transgender component and on forcing us into doing things against our family values, religious beliefs, and core moral beliefs. Much damage has already been done to our family. How many families will the system destroy?
“Is the state of Montana willing to open a door and take every troubled child who is angry with their parents, placing them in group home settings and violating their rights as caregivers, providers, and parents, and morally diminishing and destroying our family units?
“This is a medical kidnapping, and this needs to stop. We currently only have a public defender whose advice has been to play nice. We are running out of time. If there is any attorney willing to fight for us pro bono, please contact us.”
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) issued a statement regarding this contentious child welfare case.
The Governor’s statement, while lengthy, has been criticized for its lack of specific details about the case. Critics argue that the statement fails to clarify whether the child was indeed taken from her family due to their refusal to support her gender identity.
In his series of tweets, Governor Gianforte wrote:
To give them their best shot at reaching their full potential, children deserve to grow up in happy, healthy homes with loving families. Sadly, this ideal is not always realized.
Unfortunately, our society finds children whose life, health, and wellbeing are at serious risk from abuse and neglect, and only as a last resort, should they be removed from their home.
Upon hearing recent allegations related to a child welfare case, I asked Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras – an experienced attorney, constitutional conservative, mother, and grandmother – to review it.
Consulting with the director of DPHHS and personally examining case documents, Lieutenant Governor Juras has concluded that DPHHS and the court have followed state policy and law in their handling of this tragic case.
I have asked the lieutenant governor to continue monitoring the case as it progresses. Further, Senate Bill 99, which I signed into law in April 2023, prohibits medical and surgical treatments to treat minors with gender dysphoria and also prohibits the use of taxpayer resources for such treatments.
Our administration will continue to advance policies that strengthen our families and protect Montana kids, like what we have done to promote adoption and to ban permanent, invasive, life-altering medical procedures on children, like puberty blockers, hormonal treatments, and sex reassignment surgeries.
SCOOP
The state of Montana has kidnapped a teenage girl from her parents to transition her gender in another state, subverting Montana’s laws against gender transition for minors.
A friend of the family reached out to @GabsClark5 and @AffirmReal for help because a… pic.twitter.com/imUbcFqHat
— Karlyn Borysenko, the modern day Yuri Bezmenov (@DrKarlynB) January 25, 2024
The post Montana Child Protective Services Medically Kidnapped Teen Girl to Wyoming for Gender Affirming Care, Fully Revokes Parental Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
