
Sophie was 15 years old, a Catholic girl from Southborough, Massachusetts, when the state came for her. In December 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families removed her from her home. Her parents, Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, had refused to affirm that their daughter was a boy.
The school had started it. Algonquin Regional High School had been counseling Sophie about her gender identity without the Kutzkos' knowledge. When her parents found out and pushed back, the sequence began.
DCF removed Sophie. Then came the criminal charges — physical and sexual abuse. The parents fighting to keep their daughter home were accused of harming her. Those charges were ruled unfounded in February 2025.
Sophie stayed in state custody anyway. The state kept her for more than a year after the charges collapsed. During that time, DCF moved to put Sophie on testosterone. A judge temporarily blocked it. The state also sought to prescribe birth control and psychiatric drugs. A restraining order was filed — not just against the parents but against Sophie's older brother. And the family's attorney, Vernadette Broyles of the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, says Sophie was placed in male dormitory housing.
For 20 months, the state of Massachusetts barred Sophie Kutzko from attending Sunday Mass.
Governor Maura Healey offered her defense this past week.
"DCF did not remove the child because of a health issue or a gender-affirming care issue," Healey said. "DCF removed the child after there were criminal charges filed against the parents."
She repeated it: "This child was not removed because of a gender-affirming care issue. This child was removed by DCF following the presentation of criminal charges."
Those charges were ruled unfounded in February 2025.
Broyles responded directly: "There is no finding that these parents have committed any abuse."
The charges were the justification for removal. The charges were gone within two months. Sophie remained in state custody for 18 months after that. Healey's defense is built entirely on a legal basis that no longer exists.
The story drew immediate comparisons to the Justina Pelletier case. In that case, Massachusetts took a teenage girl from her family after her parents sought a second opinion on her diagnosis. Pelletier spent 16 months in state custody, much of it at Boston Children's Hospital. A judge ultimately ordered her release. Massachusetts has done this before.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 29.
Are blue states like Massachusetts safe for families anymore?


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