Due To Their Low IQs, These Parents Were Forced By The State To Give Away Their Children

Oregon’s custody system is at the center of a story that has left a lot of people unsettled. Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler have spent years trying to convince the state that they can raise their children, even though both parents have intellectual disabilities.

The couple’s two sons were removed from their care, and the case has drawn attention because it raises hard questions about parenting, disability, and who gets to decide what “capable” really means. Fabbrini’s IQ is about 72, while Ziegler’s is 66, numbers that have become part of the public debate around their family.

Now their fight has turned into something much bigger than one custody case. Read on.

Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler

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About four years ago, the couple had their first son, Christopher, who came as a total surprise. Fabbrini was not aware that she was pregnant until it was finally time to give birth to her son in Ziegler’s home.

She was residing with Fabbrini’s father at the time, who alerted the authorities, and shortly after Christopher's birth, he was taken away from his mother.

Hunter, the couple's second son, was brought into this world this February. However, this time, he was taken away before they could even bring him home. Both children are currently in foster care.

Ever since she oversaw visits between the couple and Christopher, Sherrene Hagenbach has been advocating for them:

Their situation only got more complicated after the first removal.

Just like the fight between a Redditor and their sister’s family over moving in during a housing crisis, Amy Fabbrini’s case turned into a forced decision by the state.

It feels like we have to go through so many loops to prove to them that we’re capable of taking care of our kids, and there’s still always one more thing,” Fabbrini said.

The couple has taken many classes since losing custody of Christopher. They have completed two parenting classes, a first aid class, a nutrition class, a CPR class, and psychological evaluations as well.

The couple now lives together in Ziegler’s parents' three-bedroom home, and Ziegler has obtained a driver’s license. Both parents have high school diplomas, but neither of them currently works.

The couple decorated a nursery in their home despite never having lived with their sons. They filled it with baby clothes that have never been worn and baby books that they were never able to read to their boys.

That nursery says a lot about what they lost.

Fabbrini’s aunt, Lenora Turner, who also serves as a state-approved chaperone for the visits the parents have with Hunter, said:

I honestly don’t understand why they can’t have their children,” she said. “I go to the grocery store and I see other people with their children, and they’re standing up in the grocery cart… and I think, how come they get to keep their children? How do they decide whose child they’re going to take and whose child can stay?”

Due to confidentiality concerns, the state refused to comment on the case; however, officials referred reporters to the court documents. Child welfare records indicate that Ziegler apparently had been sleeping with the baby on the floor, and some people who know him reported that he gets frustrated easily and often even “forgets to feed his dog.”

Ziegler denied all accusations and claimed that he never “almost rolled over his son,” and he also pointed to his chubby dog to prove that he feeds him well and regularly.

Even the family’s defenders say the state is looking hard at every detail.

About 4.1 million parents in the United States have disabilities. About 94,300 of those parents (which is 2.3%) are estimated to have cognitive disabilities.

Losing parental rights is common for around 40% to 80% of those intellectually disabled parents. These decisions directly contradict the available research that suggests that parenting capabilities are not affected by low IQ unless it is below 50.

At least one Oregon legislator, Senator Tim Knopp (R-Bend), became aware of Fabbrini and Ziegler’s story. He said that he would support a bill to prevent the government from taking away custody solely based on a parent's disability.

Before you judge Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler, read how one mom refused her sister-in-law’s baby-savings demand.