“The state took our children away from the maternity ward”
A US couple was forced to give up both of their children after it was determined that they were too stupid to raise them.
Soon after the birth of their older son Christopher, Oregon residents Amy Fabbrini, 31, and Eric Ziegler, 38, lost custody of him. Five months later, the state removed their second kid, Hunter.
After several accusations regarding the couple’s parenting style, Ziegler and Fabbrini were asked to take an IQ test.
According to The Oregonian, a family member of the couple had complained to the police about Christopher’s welfare while in their care.
After failing an IQ test, the parents were forced to give up their kids. Photo:
Ziegler was allegedly “sleeping with the infant on the floor and almost rolled over on him,” according to a child protection report.
The father of Fabbrini, Raymond, also complained that he and his wife were providing most of the care at the time because he believed his daughter lacked the “instincts to be a mother.”
Fabbrini received a score of 72 on the IQ test, whereas Ziegler received a score of 66.
The average person has an IQ between 90 and 110.
The couple was thought to be too stupid to raise children. Photo:
Based on his test results, Ziegler is classified as having a slight “intellectual handicap,” while Fabbrini is classified as having “very low to borderline IQ.”
Due to his mental condition, Ziegler had been receiving financial assistance through the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs.
Sherrene Hagenbach, the couple’s coach and mentor, has since started a Change.org petition on their behalf, arguing that there isn’t enough justification to take the kids away.
Hagenbach, who is also a board member of Healthy Families of the High Desert, stated: “In my professional opinion, after multiple sessions observing Amy and Eric interact with their son for hours on end, I found no reason they should have had their child taken from them and placed in the State’s care.”
As I noted in the session notes of each visit, any CPS employee who had received a reasonable amount of training and education should have reached the same conclusion.
Christopher was raised by the couple along with the mother’s twin boys because they “demonstrated adequate parenting abilities with him, had no history of abuse or neglect, and had a great wish to have him back to them.”
Lenora Turner, Fabbrini’s aunt, told The Oregonian that she didn’t think the judgment was just.
“I genuinely don’t comprehend why they are unable to have children. When I go to the grocery store, I notice other folks pushing standing-up supermarket carts with their kids, she said.
“I wonder how they managed to keep their kids. How do they choose which children to take and which ones to let stay?
The parents will have supervised visitation for the time being even though they are still fighting to have their kids returned to them.
