The Waterbury State Office Complex seen on June 23, 2023. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Vermont Department for Children and Families asked a judge Monday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it surveilled pregnant Vermonters, arguing that the suit did not stand up to legal scrutiny.The motio n stems from a January lawsuit filed by the Vermont ACLU, the nonprofit legal firm Pregnancy Justice and other lawyers on behalf of a woman who allegedly endured a harrowing ordeal surrounding the 2022 birth of her daughter. The lawsuit claimed that the Vermont Department for Children and Families used a “calendar” that tracked “high-risk” Vermonters’ pregnancies — a tool state officials allegedly relied upon when they filed for custody of the infant even before she was born.Attorneys for the woman, who is identified in court documents only as A.V., argued that the department received confidential medical information from Copley Hospital, where she went to give birth, and Lund, a South Burlington family services organization, where she had received counseling.In February 2022, when A.V. went into labor at Copley, according to the ACLU’s lawsuit, the state quickly filed for — and was granted — custody of the yet-unborn infant, before A.V. was even able to hold the baby. The child was returned to her months later after another court order, per the complaint.  “A.V.’s experience reflects a broader, troubling pattern and practice of DCF surveilling and punishing pregnant Vermonters based on unsubstantiated claims that extend beyond its jurisdiction,” the lawsuit reads. READ MORE Vermont ACLU claims state conducts ‘surveillance and brazen intervention’ into Vermonters’ pregnancies by Peter D'Auria January 16, 2025, 9:13 amJanuary 20, 2025, 12:52 pm But on Monday, the Department for Children and Families pushed back on those arguments, saying that the department had, in fact, acted within the bounds of the law and that the plaintiff had no grounds for a lawsuit.In the state’s filing, in Lamoille County Superior Court, David Groff, an assistant attorney general, argued that A.V. was not included on any calendar used to track Vermonters’ pregnancies — and that state law protected the state’s ability to take action even before the birth of a child.The state’s filing does not explicitly address the existence of a calendar. But the department “disputes Plaintiff’s characterizations of DCF’s practices in these regards,” the filing reads.Groff’s motion to dismiss also argues that disputes between the department and A.V. over the custody of her child belonged in family court, not civil court — and, further, that those matters had already been resolved there.“These are exactly the type of claims reserved for the Family Division,” the motion reads. “They cannot be second guessed and relitigated here.” The filing also cited the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which protects the state from certain types of lawsuits. And the motion denied the ACLU’s claims that the state had violated the Vermont Constitution’s Reproductive Liberty Amendment, which enshrines the “right to personal reproductive autonomy.”In A.V.’s case, “where both Plaintiff and the State were seeking healthy birth,” the amendment does not apply, the motion argues.Groff’s filing also argued that A.V. lacked proper standing to file the lawsuit: “In short, Plaintiff does not allege a sufficient injury in fact to challenge the practices that she alleges DCF uses or has used with other women,” the motion reads.A spokesperson for the department declined to comment. Harrison Stark, one of the ACLU attorneys who filed the suit, also declined to comment. The complaint named the Department for Children and Families, Copley Hospital and Lund — where A.V. sought care and counseling during her pregnancy — as defendants in the case. Copley filed a separate response to the complaint, rebutting its claims point-by-point.  In the complaint, attorneys for A.V. wrote that the Morrisville hospital improperly provided DCF staffers with confidential health information about pregnant Vermonters, including A.V.  But Copley “denies routinely disclosing confidential information about pregnant Vermonters,” the hospital’s filing reads. “Defendant admits to cooperating with DCF as to active DCF cases, as is required of a mandatory reporter.” A Copley spokesperson declined to comment Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, Lund had not yet filed a response to the ACLU’s complaint, despite a March 24 deadline. Ken Schatz, the organization’s interim CEO, said in a text message that a response “will be filed soon.”Read the story on VTDigger here: State moves to dismiss lawsuit alleging surveillance of pregnant Vermonters. ...read more read less