Vermont child welfare agency seeks to dismiss lawsuit alleging it
tracked pregnant women
[March 27, 2025]
By HOLLY RAMER
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Vermont’s child welfare agency has asked a judge to
dismiss a lawsuit alleging the state routinely targets and tracks
pregnant women deemed unsuitable for motherhood.
The Department for Children and Families filed the request Monday, two
months after it was sued by a woman who claims the state secretly
investigated her when she was pregnant and won custody of her daughter
before the baby was born. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil
Liberties Union of Vermont and the Pregnancy Justice advocacy group,
seeks both an end to what it calls an illegal surveillance program and
unspecified monetary damages for the woman, who is identified only by
her initials, A.V.
According to the complaint, the director of a homeless shelter where A.V.
briefly stayed in January 2022 told the child welfare agency that she
appeared to have untreated paranoia, dissociative behaviors and
post-traumatic stress disorder. The state opened an investigation and
later spoke to the woman’s counselor, midwife and hospital social
worker. The suit alleges the state received updates from the hospital
and won temporary custody of the fetus while she was in labor and then
immediately took the baby away when she was born.
According to the lawsuit, the state had no jurisdiction before the baby
was born, an argument the state rebuts in its filing.
“DCF is tasked with the difficult and delicate task of balancing the
need to protect children from potential abuse and neglect against
disruptions to families,” wrote Assistant Attorney General David Groff.
“Given its mission, DCF has the authority to investigate potential abuse
to a soon-to-be-born child before the child is born. DCF need not wait
for harm to occur after birth.”
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This March 26, 2025, photo shows the Vermont Department for Children
and Family's motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges that the state
routinely targets and tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for
parenthood. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
 The state argues that its family
court system has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether a child
needs care or supervision, and that the plaintiff can't relitigate
custody decisions via a lawsuit. The motion neither confirms nor
denies the existence of a “pregnancy calendar” used to track women,
but says A.V. lacks standing to challenge it because she was never
part of such a calendar and doesn't claim to have been.
The lawsuit also names the hospital where the woman gave birth and a
counseling center where she sought treatment as defendants. Lund,
the counseling center, has also filed a motion to dismiss the case.
In its response to the suit, Copley Hospital said it cooperated with
the state's investigation as required under state law. The hospital
denied that it illegally disclosed confidential medical information
about A.V. or that it routinely collects and disseminates sensitive
information about pregnant patients.
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