CONCORD, N.H. — A lawsuit has been filed alleging that Vermont’s child welfare agency engaged in unauthorized surveillance of a pregnant woman, relying on unfounded claims regarding her mental health, in order to secure custody of her child prior to birth. The suit, brought forth by the ACLU of Vermont along with Pregnancy Justice, contends that the state often targets pregnant women who are considered unfit for parenting.
The action was taken against the Vermont Department for Children and Families, as well as a local counseling center and the hospital where the woman delivered in February 2022. The lawsuit aims to halt what it terms an unlawful surveillance initiative and seeks undisclosed monetary compensation for the woman, referred to only by her initials, A.V.
According to the complaint, the director of a homeless shelter where A.V. temporarily resided reported to the child welfare department that A.V. exhibited signs of untreated paranoia, dissociative behaviors, and PTSD. This prompted the state to initiate an investigation, during which they contacted the woman’s counselor, midwife, and a hospital social worker—all without her knowledge or consent, and despite the lack of lawful authority over unborn children.
The situation came to a head during A.V.’s labor, when she was unaware that hospital staff were providing updates to the state regarding her progress—including specifics on her cervix dilation—while the agency had secured temporary custody of her fetus. A state request for a court order to mandate a cesarean section became unnecessary after A.V. consented to the procedure, but it took her seven months to obtain full custody of her daughter. Harrison Stark, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU, described these events as “a horrific set of circumstances” for A.V., and pointed out that this incident may not be isolated, as reports suggest a systematic practice by the agency of monitoring pregnant women labeled as “high risk.”
Chris Winter, head of the Department for Children and Families, stated that the agency would respond once they had a chance to review the lawsuit and its claims. He underlined the agency’s commitment to child safety while balancing parental rights. In the meantime, Copley Hospital declined to comment on the legal proceedings, while officials from Lund, the counseling center involved, expressed that they were looking into the allegations after hearing about them through the news.
There is ongoing debate around the prevalence of such practices nationwide. Several states permit civil commitment of pregnant women to assume custody of their fetuses, raising alarms about the infringement of personal rights under the guise of protecting unborn children. Kulsoom Ijaz, a senior staff attorney at Pregnancy Justice, remarked that Vermont’s circumstances illustrate a disturbing trend where pregnancy is exploited as a rationale for violating individual rights. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that curtailed nationwide abortion rights, many women have faced criminal charges related to their pregnancies, primarily concerning issues of substance use.
Ijaz condemned the actions of the Vermont child welfare agency as both cruel and discriminatory, likening them to state-sponsored stalking that breaches Vermont’s newly established reproductive rights in its state constitution. She believes this case offers Vermont an opportunity to lead by example, reinforcing that such rights must be upheld in practice as well as in statute.
The allegations in this case are particularly striking as Vermont has positioned itself as a stronghold for reproductive rights. Stark emphasized the alarming nature of evidence suggesting covert collaboration between the state agency and healthcare providers to gather personal information without individuals’ consent, extending the agency’s reach dangerously into the realm of reproductive health decisions.
