Jeff Younger, a Texas father who fought a protracted legal battle against his ex-wife’s efforts to transition their son, announced Tuesday that a California judge has stripped him of all parental rights. Younger, 59, has been fighting the case for five years, stemming from a disagreement over whether their child, now 11, should undergo hormone replacement therapy.
In 2019, Younger’s ex-wife, Ann Georgulas, sought to initiate the therapy when their son was 7 years old. Younger opposed the move, arguing that the boy should not transition, a stance that ultimately led to their divorce.
“I lost all parental rights to my sons,” Younger wrote on X last week. “California Judge Juhas gave my ex-wife authority to castrate my son, James.”
According to Younger, Georgulas first expressed a desire to transition their son as far back as 2015, when the boy was just 3 years old. He claims that Texas Judge Mary Brown disregarded an initial jury verdict granting him joint custody and instead imposed strict conditions during supervised visitations.
“I was sent to supervised visitation where I could not change my son out of a dress, I had to affirm him as a girl, and I was not allowed to pray with him,” Younger told Newsmax during an appearance on Wake Up America. He admitted that he refused to comply with these conditions, which led to his son being allowed to move to California with Georgulas.
Despite escalating the case to the Texas Supreme Court, Younger said the court ruled against him, allowing the move to California, a state with laws that affirm and protect gender-affirming care for minors.
In California, Younger alleges that Judge Mark Juhas denied him discovery requests, including access to evidence or an independent medical examination for his son. “In the end, the judge stripped me of all parental rights — all contact has to be supervised, even phone calls,” Younger said. “I must affirm my son is a girl, and I don’t get any visitation that is not supervised.”
The case has drawn national attention, with many conservatives rallying around Younger as a symbol of the broader debate over parental rights and gender transitions for minors. Critics of California’s gender-affirming care policies argue that they undermine parental authority, while supporters claim they are vital for protecting transgender youth.
Younger concluded his remarks with a message of heartbreak, expressing hope that he might reconnect with his son as an adult. “Goodbye, boys,” he said. “Perhaps, we will meet when you are adults.”
