This Black Family’s Newborn Was Taken By CPS — It’s Time For Reproductive Justice

March 21st, 2023 was a cool spring day in the Desoto suburb of Dallas, Texas. Supported by a doula and their two older children, Temecia and Rodney Jackson welcomed their new baby Mila in their home, completing their family. Their beautiful baby girl was 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and the light of their life. Three days later, on March 24th, the couple took their newborn to a pediatrician where their doctor shared that everything was great but that Mila had mild jaundice, which wasn’t cause for much concern. Rodney and Temecia left the pediatricians office with a plan to use home remedies on their baby’s jaundice, under the supervision of their midwife. Hours later, police were knocking on their door and March 28th, at only one week old, Mila was taken from her home by Child Protective Services (CPS) after their doctor reported them. Since then, her parents have only seen baby Mila through supervised visits with CPS and they’re not aware of where or with whom the newborn is staying.

This is America: where for centuries Black and Indigenous families have been forcibly separated from one another and their cultural roots. Where one can’t terminate a pregnancy without lawmakers and zealots up in arms. Where a Black woman can’t carry her pregnancy to full-term without fearing she won’t make it to see her child alive. Where birthing people, parents, and guardians aren’t given the tools they need to raise their children safely. America is also where state agencies regularly deem themselves more equipped to raise your child than you. In a working group for the United Nations, Dorothy E. Roberts, J.D. shared that, “Although Black children were only 14 percent of children in the United States in 2019, they made up 23 percent of children in foster care.” Later, she added that “more than half of Black children are subjected to a CPS investigation at some point during their childhoods — almost twice the lifetime prevalence for white children.”

That’s the America that the Jackson family came face to face with on March 21st, when their physician chose to punish them, not protect them. There has also been rampant anti-Blackness throughout their case. Mila was taken from her parents with an affidavit bearing the wrong mother’s name and referring to Rodney Jackson as Mila’s “alleged” father, though his paternity has never been in dispute. It’s no wonder that Black couples are distrusting of the medical system. Many fear being criminalized while parenting or, worse, dying in childbirth. 

Krystal Leaphart currently serves as the Black Girls Vote advocacy co-lead and has worked on the frontlines of gender justice organizing for over a decade. “It is past time that we address the continued criminalization of midwives and put this energy towards securing the right to choose if, when and how Black people want to parent,” Leaphart tells Unbothered over the phone. “Mila Jackson's abduction is just one of many examples of the ways that our country fails to protect Black family's right to choose when and how they want to parent, which include choosing a birthing plan that best serves their family wants and needs.”

Unfortunately,  this conversation is right on time. This week (April 11th-17th, 2023) is Black Maternal Health Week and as Temecia and Rodney fight for their child back, countless other parents and community leaders are speaking up about the systemic issues facing Black parents. “Across Texas, there are severe and targeted patterns of attacks against Black women and birthing people and their right to access reproductive health care like midwifery and access to safe, legal, and affordable abortions,” says Sakira Cook, who serves as Vice President of Campaigns at Color of Change. Family separation in Black communities is a practice as old as time, especially in the South. Since this nation’s founding, birthing bodies have been used as tools for profit or experimentation. In the 21st century, not much has changed. Following the fall of Roe and in conservative-led states across America, Black birthing people are bing blocked from accessing abortion and family care. 

“The family policing system, rooted in slavery, was deliberately crafted to tear down Black families, perpetuating reproductive control over Black mothers and pregnant individuals,” Sakira Cook of Color of Change continues. The name of the white supremacist game is hoarding autonomy. It seems like an oxymoron for a country that criminalizes abortion to take children from their parents but this is who America has always been. This fight has never truly been about life vs. choice but rather the state’s power to make decisions for you and at their own whim. 

“Reproductive Justice calls for us to protect people's rights to have a child, to not have a child and to bodily autonomy,” says Leaphart. “It also calls for us to reject the white supremacist notion that Black children of any age are better off forcibly removed from their family.” As of now, the Jacksons are waiting for their next hearing which was delayed to April 20th. “The freedom and ability to parent our children and care for our families without the constant threat of violence is a basic human right that must be upheld and one we must fight and protect for Temecia and Rodney Jackson,” Cook, VP at Color of Change, reminds us. You can support them by joining in-person rallies and contacting leaders across Texas to add pressure.

Longterm, we need a new normal when it comes to abortion, children, and the way we treat birth. A moving new campaign by Cultural Engagement Lab called “Autonomy is My Joy” is centering Black birthing stories and championing birth equity. “Black women deserve safety in the choices they make when imagining parenthood,” says Alexis Posey, the Cultural Engagement Lab’s Political Director. The campaign includes a series of PSAs co-produced with Inspire Justice – such as this one featuring the story of Rachel Julien-Maurice, a mom and doula-in-training who found both joy and autonomy in giving birth on the other side of evidence-based data and affirming care.

“Our country has a devastating Black maternal health crisis that is getting worse, not better because The U.S. Supreme Court allowed state lawmakers to take away our access to reproductive health care, and because Congress has failed to pass the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act,” says Monifa Bandele, Chief Strategy Officer at MomsRising, a campaign partner. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act invests in community-based organizations and includes historic policies and investments in Black mamas, families, and systems of care. Through story sharing, advocates hope to change the narrative around birthing people and urge Congress to pass the Momnibus Act. 

Now, Rachel is fighting so that other Black birthing people can achieve those same outcomes. “It was a redemptive journey,” Rachel declares in the campaign launch announcement. “Even though there are so many scary things and data out there, Black birthing people should feel empowered to use their voice. You can have a beautiful experience.” 

This Black Maternal Health Week, we need to fight for the safety and agency that Black families like Temecia, Rodney, and baby Mila deserve. Black lives matter, from birth on.