Everyone will agree that being a parent is not an easy task. Aside from the fact that it would mightily test your mental, financial and physical capacity, you would also be constantly judged by other people based on how your children behave or how you handle parenting decisions.
No one can really define who or what a perfect parent is. Not financial status nor social standing can gauge someone’s parenting skills. However, an incident in Oregon caused two parents to lose their right to parenthood due to their low IQ.
While looking at this photo, no one would think anything was different about this family.
The court decided to take away the two kids of Amy Fabbrini, 31 years old and Eric Ziegler, 38, because they scored IQ points lower that the average person. After taking the IQ test, it was found that Ziegler scored a meager 66 and Fabbrini a 72. Take note that the average person’s IQ ranges from 90-110.
However, Oregon Court thinks that the couple is unfit to be parents due to their low IQ.
According to reports, there were no domestic abuse or neglect noted during the trial for the custody. However, Fabbrini was said to be unaware of her pregnancy for her first child until she grew far into her third semester. Thus, she did not receive formal examination or treatment within the ninth month term.
The couple is now trying all legal means to overturn the court’s decision and be with their children again.
Meanwhile, Ziegler was receiving financial aid through the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income program due to the mental disability he was diagnosed with. The 38-year old father was diagnosed with a mild learning disability. He used to work as a carpet layer before being under financial support from the government.
Fabbrini had been working as a grocer to help provide for her family, but her parents acted as primary caregivers to the couple’s children because they think their daughter did not possess maternity instincts.
According to Board member of Healthy Families of the High Desert and advocate for the couple, Sherrene Hagenbach, “They are saying they are intellectually incapable without any guidelines to go by.”
‘If we’re going to get on that train, Bill Gates should take my children. There’s always somebody better than us, so it’s a very dangerous position to be in.’
The couple’s two children will remain under foster care with only supervised visitation rights from their parents as long as the court’s decision has not been overturned.
