A lawsuit filed this week accuses the Vermont Department of Child Welfare of using unsubstantiated claims about a pregnant woman's mental health to secretly investigate and win custody of her daughter before she was born.
The ACLU of Vermont and national advocacy group President Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Vermont Department of Children and Families, the counseling center and the hospital where the woman gave birth in February 2022.
In the lawsuit, the state also faces accusations that it routinely tracks down pregnant women who are deemed unfit to become mothers.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for the woman, identified only by her initials AV, and an end to what it calls an illegal surveillance program.
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A copy of the lawsuit against the Vermont Department of Children and Families. (Google Maps, Vermont Superior Court)
According to the complaint, the director of the homeless shelter where AV was staying in January 2022 told child welfare officials that she appeared to suffer from untreated paranoia, dissociative behavior and PTSD. That's what it means. Even though the state had no jurisdiction over the fetus, it began an investigation and eventually spoke to the woman's counselor, midwife, and hospital social worker without the woman's knowledge.
Harrison Stark, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU, said the woman was unaware of the investigation until she gave birth, and her daughter was immediately taken away.
Ms. AV did not know that hospital officials had kept the state updated during her delivery, including details of her cervix dilation, and that she had lost temporary custody of her baby. . The state also sought a court order forcing the woman to undergo a Caesarean section, but the attempt was invalidated because the woman consented to the procedure.
The woman was not able to win full custody of the child until seven months later.
“This is a scary situation for our client,” Stark said. “Also, it is clear from what happened that this is not the first time this agency has done something like this. We have been told by several confidential sources that DCF is pregnant, interested We learned that people like our clients have a pattern and practice of investigating people like our clients.'' Find out who you're tracking based on your Pregnancy Registry or High-Risk Pregnancy Calendar. ”
Department of Children and Families Secretary Chris Winter said the agency would not comment until authorities review the lawsuit and investigate the allegations.
“We take seriously our mission to protect children and support families and work hard to balance the safety and well-being of children with the rights of parents,” he said.
Employees at the Lund Counseling Center, who were named as defendants, said they learned of the allegations from the press.
The ACLU of Vermont and Pregnancy Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Vermont Department of Children and Families, the counseling center and the hospital where the woman gave birth. (Getty Images)
“We take this matter very seriously and are actively working to gather further information to fully understand the situation,” Interim CEO Ken Schatz said in a statement. Ta.
Copley Hospital has not commented on the lawsuit.
Kulsoom Ijaz, chief attorney at Pregnancy Justice, said several states across the country recognize pregnant women's civil obligation to have custody of their newborns. However, it is unclear how common these situations are in the United States
Ijaz said what happened to AV shows that pregnancy is increasingly being used as a justification for inhibiting people's rights.
In September, the group released a report detailing an increase in women being charged with pregnancy-related crimes a year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enact their own abortion laws. did. Most of these cases in which babies were listed as victims involved women who were charged with child abuse, neglect, or child endangerment for allegedly using drugs during pregnancy.
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This photo shows the American Civil Liberties Union logo. (Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images)
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“What DCF did here is incredibly cruel,” Ijaz said. “This is discriminatory. The state authorizes surveillance and stalking, and violates Vermont's newly enshrined reproductive autonomy in its constitution. This is your chance to tell them that they don't deserve these rights.''They only exist on paper, but they also exist in reality. ”
Stark said the allegations in Vermont are particularly troubling because the state bills itself as a haven for reproductive rights.
“A state agency essentially colludes with certain health care providers to collect information without the knowledge or consent of the public and uses unlawful jurisdiction to investigate the public based on substantive decisions regarding their own reproductive health. “Finding evidence of this expansion is extremely worrying,” he said. .
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
