The parents of a Montana teenager who lost custody of their daughter after they refused to let her transition have revealed how she obtained hormone drugs through Amazon.
Todd and Krista Kolstad say they opposed their child’s transition due to their moral and religious values.
However, determined to advance the transition process, the teen managed to obtain the sex change hormones through Amazon after a friend helped order them.
The 14-year-old, born as Jennifer but now identifying as Leo, had the drugs sent to the home of another 14-year-old girl so that her parents wouldn’t find out.
‘One of her friends was ordering her hormones off of Amazon and having them sent to her house, not ours and then giving those to our daughter, Jennifer. You don’t have to prove that you’re 18 or anything,’ Krista Kolstad told the Post-Millennial.
The purchased hormones were to facilitate a female to male transition.
Parents from Montana, Krista and Todd Kolstad lost custody of their 14-year-old daughter, Jennifer, now identifying as Leo, after they obtained sex change hormones through Amazon
Jennifer with her step mother Krista (left) before any social transitioning took place. Jennifer (right) after medical staff had allowed her to be socially transitioned, against her parents’ wishes
‘They are purchasable on Amazon and you don’t have to prove that you’re 18 or anything. You can just go in and buy them,’ Krista explained.
The Kolstads, from Glasgow, Montana lost custody of their child in January because of their opposition to state and healthcare measures aimed at facilitating a sex change for their child without their consent.
Krista, who is Jennifer’s step mother, and the girl’s biological father, Todd, said Jennifer had a tough upbringing and several undiagnosed mental health concerns, including attention-seeking behavior and lying, which they believe caused the urge to transition and were overlooked by social services.
‘We were told that letting Jennifer transition and live as a boy was in her ‘therapeutic best interest’ and because we aren’t willing to follow that recommendation, the court gave CFS custody of Jennifer for six months,’ Krista told Reduxx.
Despite their legal battles, the couple have now been held in contempt of court for speaking out against the state’s handling of the situation.
Krista told DailyMail.com last month: ‘It’s been horrible… Our family unit will never be the same. Even if they returned our daughter to us now, you’re not going to have the same family unit… it’s created a lot of animosity on Jennifer’s part towards us, she doesn’t believe she has to listen to us as her parents anymore.’
Mr Kolstad said: ‘I love my daughter unconditionally, and only want her to refrain from making decisions until she has the maturity and life experiences to understand what the consequences are for her actions.
Their child was eventually placed in the custody of Child and Family Services, who have since decided to send her to live with her biological mother in Canada.
Krista, who is Jennifer’s step mother, and the girl’s biological father, Todd, said Jennifer had a tough upbringing and several undiagnosed mental health concerns, including attention-seeking behavior and lying
Krista is Jennifer’s step mother while Todd is the girl’s biological father
The Kolstads said Jennifer had a traumatic upbringing. Her birth mother walked out when she was young and was only around sporadically.
Statements from Jennifer and her sister’s counselor showed the girls describing their biological mother as uncaring, abusive and ‘crazy.’
Jennifer has also been repeatedly bullied at school. Mr and Mrs Kolstad even moved districts to try and give their daughter a fresh start at a new school.
‘She’s always wanted to be the super pretty, super popular girl, and who doesn’t?’ said Krista. ‘But she’s always been the crazy smart kid who was in math club.’
When Child and Family Services arrived at the family home, the family let the case worker inspect their house and speak to their daughter alone, but warned her that she had a history of making up stories.
Despite facing potential arrest for discussing their case, the Kolstads remain determined to continue their fight and shed light on their predicament.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has called the situation ‘tragic’, however, upon further review by Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, it was concluded that the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and the court had ‘followed state policy and law.’
It was last August when Jennifer’s school called claiming she had tried to kill herself with toilet bowl cleaner and painkillers.
Despite their legal battles, the couple have now been held in contempt of court for speaking out against the state’s handling of the situation
Jennifer (left) pictured with parents Todd and Krista Kolstad and her sister
Jennifer pictured with parents Todd and Krista Kolstad
The teen was taken to hospital where toxicology reports revealed no abnormalities.
While they were there, doctors referred to the teen using male pronouns, because they must ‘do what the patient tells them.’
Notes taken at the hospital consistently mention that Jennifer identifies as a ‘male’ and wished to be called ‘Leo.’
Jennifer had first expressed her desire to change gender to her parents at the age of 13.
Her parents told her she was too young to make such as decision and sent her to counseling to explore why she felt that way.
Mrs Kolstad said: ‘It wasn’t new, but she hadn’t brought it up in a year. She never came to us and said, “You need to call me this, you need to call me that.” That was never an issue.’
Krista said she and Todd made their objections known to hospital staff, requesting Jennifer be called by her birth name.
‘We were very clear to the emergency room staff as well as [CFS] that this goes against our values, morals, and our religious beliefs,’ but hospital staff refused to listen.
‘They told me to call their lawyer if I have an issue as they will do what the patient tells them.’
‘I came one day and she was talking about having top-surgery and being non-binary,’ Krista said.
The on-duty Doctor then proceeded to dismiss her concerns. ‘He told me, ‘why are not you more concerned that your daughter is trying to harm herself, then what [the aide] is talking about?”
The teen was then told several times about ‘gender-affirming’ care, including double mastectomy surgery that would give her a flat chest look.
Eventually, Jennifer was allowed to spend time at a treatment facility to receive counseling.
There were six facilities in Montana, as well as one in Wyoming. The Kolstad’s raised concerns about Wyoming, as the state allows minors to have gender-affirming care such as hormone blockers and surgical procedures.
They were worried this may happen without their consent.
She was later told that she would indeed be heading to Wyoming and the Wyoming Behavioral Institute where ‘gender-affirming’ care is accessible to minors without parental consent.
It was then that Child and Family Services showed up with police and took their daughter from their care.
Jennifer with step mother Krista, who has brought her up since she was seven years old
The couple opposed their child’s transition due to their personal moral and religious beliefs
‘They called and told us that a bed had opened up in Wyoming and that Jennifer needed to go. [The Doctor] said ‘she has to go. she’s not doing any good here,’ and we were really blown away,’ Krista recalled.
‘No one talked to us about the the name of the facility — we had no one to answer our questions. We told them we wanted our questions answered before we accepted the bed.’
Minutes later, Child and Family Services arrived at the Kolstad’s home with police.
‘They showed up at our home to serve us with papers to take Jennifer out of our care,’ Krista said. ‘They told me the reason was that we were ‘unable or refusing to provide medical care.’ That’s just not true.’
‘I feel this was a lapse in judgement by [CFS], a violation of HIPAA, and a miscarriage to Jennifer, as she is only 14. What if, when she is 17, this incident is behind her and she is in a good place mentally? This is a very small town and they have just let her brand herself as the ‘crazy kid’ who tried to kill themselves,’ Krista asks.
While Jennifer was in Wyoming, she was given men’s hygiene products such as body wash and deodorant.
In September, Jennifer returned back to Montana and was placed in a Youth Dynamics group home where she has remained ever since.
Here, Jennifer has been allowed to wear a chest binder along with only men’s clothes, shave her head and attend all-boys groups.
In January, a judge ordered Krista and Todd to relinquish custody to CFS who explained that their daughter was to be sent to live with her biological mother, Christine, in Ontario, Canada.
“Our family has been destroyed by this. We have little to no contact with Jennifer and our rights as her parents have been trampled on,’ Krista said.
A GiveSendGo account was set up by Todd’s brother, to help raise funds for the family.
‘My brother and sister-in-law, who have fallen victim to the forced trans ideology, government and medical tyranny that resulted in the medical kidnapping of their 14-year-old child in Montana, facilitated by Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow, MT, along with Montana CPS,’ the appeal reads.
The local county made a statement in February about the couple’s case
‘They have been threatened, intimidated, mocked, had their characters attacked, and custody is being stripped from them because they did not consent to transitioning a 14-year-old child in mental crisis. They need our help to meet the mounting expenses and legal fees as they fight to get their daughter back in a system that has become corrupt and weaponized against families.’
The Kolstads’ case demonstrates the complex and contentious nature of issues surrounding gender transitions for minors and the varying legal landscapes across different states.
Their tale is the latest in what is a broader conversation surrounding the growing phenomenon of young people identifying as transgender or non-binary.
The surge in minors undergoing gender-related changes has ignited debates across the country regarding the ethics of such procedures for young people who may still be going through puberty.
Republican-led states have implemented legislation opposing sex change procedures for minors, while Democrat-led states have declared themselves ‘sanctuaries’ for minors seeking sex changes – even without parental consent.