THE WEEKLY REVEAL

Hello! In this issue:

• In many states, pregnant women are being reported to child welfare agencies for taking prescribed addiction-treatment medications—and some are losing custody of their babies.
• A Utah politician adopts a Native child. The family wonders how the government let it happen.

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THIS WEEK’S PODCAST

They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies.  

Jade Dass was taking medication to treat her addiction to opioids before she became pregnant. Scientific studies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that taking addiction-treatment medications during pregnancy leads to the best outcomes for both mothers and babies. But after Dass delivered a healthy daughter, the hospital reported her to the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Even as medications like Suboxone help pregnant women safely treat addiction, taking them can trigger investigations by child welfare agencies that separate mothers from their newborns. Why are women like Dass being investigated for using addiction-treatment medications during pregnancy?

To understand the scope of the dragnet, reporter Shoshana Walter, data reporter Melissa Lewis, and a team of Reveal researchers and lawyers filed 100 public records requests, putting together the first-ever tally of how often women are reported to child welfare agencies for taking prescription drugs during pregnancy.

This week on Reveal, in an episode we first aired in July 2023, we follow Dass as she grapples with losing custody of her baby—and makes one last desperate attempt to keep her family together.

A Quote to Remember

“And you have to give us a right first to take care of our family. You cannot just take them from us. It's what you are doing.”

In a recording shared with our reporters, Darwyn Fishinghawk reacts to the news that a man outside the family intended to adopt his sister’s youngest child—and that he hoped to adopt the rest of her children, too.

The family tells Leavitt they’re worried about the child’s removal from her culture—one of the key reasons the Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted. It’s meant to ensure Native children have a chance to stay with Native families.

Listen: A Baby Adopted, A Family Divided

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