Help Jade Dass Get Her Beloved Baby Back!

Jade Dass should have been given support when she had her daughter; instead her baby was taken from her. This fundraiser is to help Jade raise funds to get back on her feet so she can get her baby back. Her daughter is now two, and every day counts. Please help Jade have the chance to be the amazing mother she has already shown herself to be.

Jade Dass' story has risen to prominence through a compelling and heartwrenching NPR Reveal podcast: "They Followed Doctors’ Orders. Then Their Children Were Taken Away."

and Sunday NYTimes magazine article:

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

The podcast is incredibly compelling — stomach-churning, infuriating, heartbreaking — to hear Jade Dass, tell her story in her own words.

What happened to Jade?

Jade took legally prescribed medication, Suboxone, to responsibly manage her addiction and abstain from potentially harmful drugs during her pregnancy, at the recommendation of evidence-based guidance (e.g., CDC) and her doctor. Like so many of us, she'd had some struggles but wanted to put those in her past and do right by her daughter. But because of an infuriating decision to remove the word "illegal" in a federal law (CARA) requiring newborns "affected by" illegal drugs to be flagged to child protection services, hospitals are required to "notify authorities any time a newborn was 'affected by' any substance, legal or illicit." This is what happened to Jade—and it's happened to many others across the country too.

For Jade, it has led to a cascade of events that have mounted bills and barriers for Jade, who just wants to pour love into the care of her daughter, and to help break the cycle of trauma that she has experienced.

Why this fundraiser now?

I listened to Jade's story, and was both heartbroken for her and other parents going through this, and enraged that the government believes this approach is the way to support parents in being the best parents they can be. I am a birth doula based in Vermont, and I am also a researcher and educator on advancing gender equality and health and preventing violence. I reached out to the amazing reporter who covered this story, Shoshana Walter, to see if anyone had set up a fundraiser for Jade, and she put me in touch with Jade, who was released from prison in early July (2023). Jade has enthusiastically given her permission for me to create this fundraiser.

A word from Jade:

Thank you for listening to my story. Right now I’m working on getting my car fixed and getting a job. I’m still looking. Meanwhile I’m helping take care of my dad, he’s sick and he’s struggling with his business so I’ve been helping him. My goal is to work to get my own place so I can get my daughter back. I greatly appreciate your support!