A lawsuit was filed against the Vermont Department for Children and Families, a counseling center, and a hospital, accusing them of using baseless allegations about a pregnant woman’s mental health to secretly investigate her and win custody of her daughter before the baby’s birth. The woman, identified only by her initials, A.V., had been staying at a homeless shelter in January 2022, where the director reported that she appeared to have untreated paranoia, dissociative behaviors, and PTSD. The state began investigating and spoke to the woman’s counselor, midwife, and a hospital social worker without her knowledge, even though it had no jurisdiction over fetuses.
The woman remained unaware of the probe until she gave birth and her daughter was taken away. She was not able to win full custody of her child until seven months later. The lawsuit claims that the state has a pattern and practice of looking into pregnant women who are deemed unsuitable to be mothers and tracking them on a “high risk pregnancy docket” or “high risk pregnancy calendar”.
The director of the Department for Children and Families, Chris Winter, stated that the agency will not comment until officials have reviewed the lawsuit and investigated its accusations. Officials at the counseling center and the hospital also declined to comment.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified monetary damages for the woman and an end to what it describes as an illegal surveillance program. It also highlights how pregnancy is increasingly being used as a justification to block people’s rights, with several states across the country allowing the civil commitment of pregnant women to take custody of a newborn.