A couple in Oregon are fighting to get their children back after the Department of Human Services determined they could not safely raise their sons with their low IQ scores.
Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler have tried for four years to prove to the state that they are "intellectually capable of raising their children," The Oregonian reports.
Five months ago, the state took the couple’s second son, Hunter, “directly from the hospital,” according to The Oregonian. The pair have an older son, Christopher, who was also taken shortly after his birth---almost five years ago.
No evidence of child abuse was found between Fabbrini and Ziegler, but the state child welfare agency terminated the couple's parental rights and made their sons available for adoption.
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Court appeal documents stated the couple has “limited cognitive abilities that interfere with (their) ability to safely parent the child.”
"They're saying that this foster care provider is better for the child because she can provide more financially, provide better education, things like that," a former volunteer with the state agency said to The Oregonian. "If we're going to get on that train, Bill Gates should take my children."
Documents provided by the couple revealed that Fabbrini's IQ tested at about 72, which is considered an "extremely low to borderline range of intelligence," and Ziegler tested around 66, which is a "mild range of intellectual disability," The Oregonian reports. The average IQ for adults is between 90 and 110.
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According to The Oregonian, an advocacy group for disability rights tried to pass legislation in 2013 that would have banned the state from declaring a parent unfit based on a parent's intellectual disability.
The bill did not pass the state House committee.
Read more at oregonlive.com
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