A DeSoto couple continues to fight to gain custody of their newborn daughter from child protective services.
Rodney and Temecia Jackson left the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ office in Dallas on Thursday after visiting their 3-week-old Mila. The Jacksons allege Texas Child Protective Services took their infant from them based on wrong information and a dispute with their doctor over how to treat the baby’s jaundice.
“I feel hunted. We feel hunted. Why? Because we’re fighting you all? Because we know we haven’t done anything? I refuse to go down without a fight,” Rodney Jackson said Thursday.
Mila Jackson was born on March 21, 2023. Three days after she was born at home, the baby was taken to the doctor’s office. According to the CPS complaint, pediatrician Dr. Anand Bhatt with Baylor Scott & White told advised the baby needed to be taken to the hospital for phototherapy within 24 hours.
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“A message was left explaining that the timing for the baby receiving treatment was important as complications could lead to brain damage,” according to court documents.
The CPS complaint states on March 25, DeSoto Police were called to conduct a welfare check to make sure the Jacksons were okay after there was no response. It was later communicated that the couple intended to “take care of the baby naturally and that they didn’t believe in modern medicine and vaccination.”
According to the complaint, Bhatt texted the family saying they could set up phototherapy at home and work with their midwife.
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“It is not believed that most people have the correct phototherapy lights at home,” the documents state. “Finally, the doctor advised ‘there is a 30% chance that the baby may end up with complications. On the other hand, [the baby] may be able to turn the corner and be fine. However, concern is still present currently. The family was given additional time to seek medical care for the baby before CPS notification. There was no response.”
Baby Mila was removed from the home on March 28.
“It’s not just Mila. It’s a lot of other babies that’s going through this. Whether they’re white, Black, or brown. Color don’t even matter. It’s too many kids that are being stripped away from good families,” Jackson said Thursday before a group of supporters.
The couple left the Texas DFPS office in Dallas to supporters rallying in their support, including Carvell Bowens with the Texas Organizing Project.
“It’s just typical, you know? It’s how the system always taps into people’s lives, takes over without regard to concerns the family has. Things like that. We see it impede in all different facets of life,” Bowens said. “We just see where they think they know better than the family. The family made a choice. Family is the basic structure of government. It’s the very building block.”
A closer look at the order shows the woman listed as Mila’s mother is not Temecia Jackson. Instead, it is a woman she said she does not know and has a history with CPS.
A spokesperson told NBC 5 Thursday she was unable to comment on the case but said the name error has been corrected.
“At the outset of any investigation, we make a concerted effort to speak with families directly to verify their personal information, and we attempted to do so in this case. The error included in the affidavit was corrected as soon as we became aware that we were given incorrect information,” the email to NBC 5 read.
NBC 5 reached out to Baylor Scott & White on the matter, as Bhatt is employed by the hospital system.
"In respect of patient privacy, it is inappropriate to provide comment on this matter. We do abide by reporting requirements set forth in the Texas Family Code and any other applicable laws,” a statement Thursday read.
