Father Loses Custody of Sons as Ex-Wife Puts One Through ‘Gender-Affirming Care’
On Tuesday, a father in Texas lost his son. Not to death, but to transgenderism. Jeff Younger has been in court with his ex-wife, pediatrician Anne Georgulas, for roughly six years. The two were fighting over the custody of their son James. Younger, however, was also motivated to press on with the lengthy legal battle so that he could protect his child from the so-called “gender-affirming care” Georgulas wanted to encourage with their son.
California Judge Mark Juhas ultimately ruled this week to give Georgulas the final authority over what happens to both of their sons. This means she can now allow 12-year-old James to get what she claimed he wants, including “puberty blockers,” estrogen, and “bottom surgery” (the removal of the penis and testicles.) “My trial in California is finished,” Younger shared in a post on X. “…[S]o many of you have prayed for and supported my sons. … Thank you. I did my best to stop the transgender castration of my son.”
In a separate post, he wrote:
“I lost all parental rights to my sons. Goodbye, boys. Perhaps, we will meet when you are adults. California Judge Juhas gave my ex-wife authority to castrate my son, James. All contact with my boys must be supervised. I won’t do that. I send letters and gifts to my sons. My ex is not required to give them to the boys. I cannot post pictures of my sons. Let my story be a cautionary one for young men. Fathers have no rights to their children.”
Younger went on to explain why he doesn’t plan to take supervised trips to visit his child. His concern is that being supervised will make him look “dangerous” to James, as if “something is wrong with him.” Additionally, Younger noted that supervised visits can come back and hurt the father, because “the supervisor can record anything he wants. Whatever he writes down, the court will take as fact.” Ultimately, “Supervision provides infinitely malleable material for the courts to make damaging findings.” But Younger pointed out that, per visit, he would have to pay over $2,000 dollars in travel and supervision costs.
The marriage between Younger and Georgulas was annulled in 2016. Around that time, The Daily Wire reported, “Georgulas claimed James wanted to be called ‘Luna’ and allowed her son to paint his nails and wear dresses, while Younger said the boy acted like a boy when with his father.” Dallas County District Judge Kim Cooks had allowed both parents to have full custody of James in 2019, but a decision handed down by Judge Mary Brown turned the tide the following year.
In 2020, Younger lost full custody, but he was still able to prevent his son from being given hormone suppression therapy, puberty blockers, and transgender reassignment surgery. However, what ultimately rendered Younger helpless to stop the transition is California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom (D) who signed Senate Bill 107 in September 2022, making the state a so-called “sanctuary state” for minors who wanted “gender-affirming care.” It didn’t take long for Georgulas to move to California and take to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Earlier this year, Georgulas filed a motion meant “to dissolve the protective order preventing her from subjecting James to ‘gender-affirming care.’” And quicker than Younger likely imagined, both of his sons were taken away from him. David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, weighed in with The Washington Stand. As a soon-to-be father, Closson can’t “imagine a more horrifying outcome than what this judge has decided.”
“Effectively,” he stated, “this minor child’s mother has been given carte blanche freedom to pursue so-called ‘gender affirming care,’ which can include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and physical surgeries. The idea that the mom would press ahead over the vigorous dissent of the father is a truly lamentable outcome.” Closson hopes that Younger may be granted some success “in securing some sort of stay in the court process before his son is chemically castrated or marred for life.” But as it stands, that is not the case.
Closson acknowledged the fact that Younger, as well as others who followed the story, prayed for an outcome that doesn’t appear to have come to fruition as of yet. But Closson offered encouragement: “Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing. And for believers watching this case, we need to remember the Bible’s admonition to pray, because only the Lord knows the ultimate outcome of this case.”
While it “continues to proceed through legal channels, we need to be praying for God’s will to be done,” Closson urged. “Faithful Christians watching this case should rightfully hope that this minor child will be protected from the abuses of transgender ideology.” And, ultimately, Closson believes a story like this illustrates something far deeper in our society that all Christians should be aware of. It’s not just one father in a messy court case, Closson emphasized, but a “war on ontology that is being waged in the name of ‘transgender rights.’”
He continued, “Ontology, or the nature of being, demonstrates that there are only two sexes. A biblical worldview affirms what Genesis 1 and 2 teaches — that male and female He created them.” The current political climate, including the most recent presidential campaign, “also highlighted these issues, and a vast majority of Americans were outraged with the excess of the transgender moral revolution.”
Closson drew attention to a court case that will soon be brought to the U.S. Supreme Court — Skrmetti v. United States. “Oral arguments in this case are going to focus on a Tennessee law that prohibits patients under the age of 18 from receiving these treatments related to gender-affirming care,” he explained. “There’s going to be a decision from SCOTUS next year, and Christians need to be praying for the outcome of that case as well.”
As Closson emphasized, “there’s always hope.” As believers, “We know that God is always at work. Genesis 50:20 tells us that even bad things meant for evil God can use for good. That’s a principle affirmed in Romans 8:28 as well.”
But Closson concluded that “Christians, who are truth tellers, need to call out transgenderism for what it is: A rebellion against the very order of creation.”
Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.