I totally agree with you. What makes a parent? The state does not tuck the kids into bed, give them hugs, or love! The state needs to go after the ones that are on drugs and the abusers.

There isn't enough control. If they don't take her child and restrict her opportunities for more then there will be additional 'too stupid to be a parent' cases. Although by taking her choice away they are denying the theory of 'survival of the fittest' and 'natural selection'. We have way too many parents here in the U.S. who fit in her category, way too many for Social Services to handle.

it sounds like this baby need a lot of medical/high tech care. perhaps the baby has tubes and needs that not too many people could handle in the first place. the article doesn't say what these needs are, but to give the mom an iq test, there must be a lot more involved!

The child was not taken from the hospital and her custody because she is stupid. There was a reason, of which we don't know because it isn't stated in this article. It takes quite a period of time to go from removal to adoption, and there are certainly things this "mother" could have done during that time. The child is now three years old!
IQ is not a judge of common sense and I suspect has no actual baring on her not having her child. It is simply a number to quanitfy to the reading public. One thing she does sound is highly manipulative, and this is the one thing that she is trying to do to get her child back - get the public involved over a very private matter. Quit sqealing, grow up and let the child have a good life with adoptive parents, whom the child is bonded with! Giving the child back to the mother at this stage of the game is a grave disservice to the child, and the child is the only on that matters here.

I don't know what your issues with child services and professional mental health workers are but I can assure you that you couldn't prove your statements if your life depended upon it. The gross generalization of "most cases" is an illiterate expression that can't be measured. Your comment on the "so called experts....educated idiots", places you squarely in the class to which you refer, IDIOT. I see you have an interesting plan to solve the child welfare crisis dilemma, perhaps you should publish it so we can knock the hell out of your ideas, for a change.

Who do social services think they are? I can't stand social services they are always sticking their nose where it does not belong. Sure we don't know the whole story on what is going on but they have no right to take someone's child away! For those of you thinking that the child would be better off being adopted because of all the medical cost, you have alot to learn. If everyone in the world waited to they could afford to have children, there would be very few children. It is her baby leave her alone,if she wants to give the baby up for adoption because she can't afford to keep the child or for whatever reason, let that be her decision,not the social worker!

I dont care what her IQ is or was. She didnt know she was pregnant for 27 weeks!!!! any female here with an active sex life who bothers to pay attention to details like that?? if youre dim enough not to know or care about that aspect of health/hygiene Id shudder to think of how she would handle a medically fragile preemie. Babies are screaming need factories from the get go...{right up through age 25 }and it sounds like she doesnt have what it takes. Like a husband, for starters, and lots of cold hard cash.You know, medical/social service establishments dont have to go out of their way to make more work for themselves.....they have plenty to do. If this girl was not an appropriate mother Im sure they had a reason to think so.

I am in the business of child advocacy. I would bet there is much more going on here besides the mother's IQ. The final decision rests in a court of law. Human Services are not allowed to "snatch" children. They must work within the confines of the law. In addition, if the judge makes a poor decision, it can be appealed. With so many "eyes" on a case, it is unlikely the only reason she lost her child is IQ. Give the system a break. There are checks and balances all over the place. Looks like this mom is trying to get sympathy without telling the whole story.....and I guarantee there is more to the story.

Not all "experts" are "over-educated" idiots. Granted, some do practice beyond their competancy, the majority are actually qualified, efficient and competent physicians/clinicians. An IQ of 71 is considered to fall in the Borderline range of one's current cognitive functioning. Had her standard score been two points lower (69), she would probably be diagnosed with Mental Retardation (depending on her functional abilities, i.e., being able to adequately perform activities of daily living, etc). With that said, with regards to TMP's comment below,-"IQ is not a judge of common sense and I suspect has no actual baring on her not having her child."- IQ is not only a measure of verbal ability, but also has a nonverbal aspect comprised of several subtests that measure one's ability to adapt to and solve novel situations and problems, which as one should easily perceive, child rearing is full of novel situations. Her IQ suggests that she may not be able to adequately care for and handle all of the new tasks and problems that accompany parenting of a “normal” and healthy baby, more or less one that is experiencing developmental delays.

Bruce,
Scarey, someone who thinks like me. The only thing I would of added to your post is the fact that common sense ( unless your building a space rocket ) should trump educated idiots with no hands on experience of the world.

To refer to the :"TMT" comment when he or she commented that there were certainly things that this Mother "could have done during that time" meaning that during the time the infant toddler was held in the system.
Unless you your self have witnessed, expereinced, seen, watched, participated, read and have witnessed these child family courts "operate" you have no knowledge whatsoever as to what is reallly going on. There are tricks, twisted laws, and conspiracies, plots and plans going on in these family courts to steal someones child, and it is very easy for them to write a report, or rather tell a newsreporter "what to write" so the public can make a negative opinion of the parent so to keep their operation in full swing while some of the public who have not experecined this sort of kidnaping themselves act will continue to support their unlawful acts/. A suspected murder gets a fair trial, but a falsly accuse parent gets none.
Only in times when they know beyond the shadow of a doubt will they bring the parent into a criminal court, becuase they have real evidence, but never in a case where their allegations have no merit or backing will they take a parent into a fair trial like a suspected murderer would get.

Nicely put. Too much intellect and not enough common sense. The do gooder syndrome. We must take care of the unfortunate ones. I guess we should take babies away from dwarfs too. How about the super bright, their kids will grow up feeling inadequate.

This is an evil decision made by a class-conscious, greedy and diabolically do-gooding court. Perhaps her school I.Q. is low, but she may easily be more emotionally intelligent than these ignorant social workers and judges with their petit bourgeois, Nazi love of punishment for the less rich. May they burn in Hell for their opposite of charity, their lack of love, the harm they seek to do. To steal a baby from a parent who loves it is also child abuse.

This parent may be compromised. And this child may need much care. However, this is where education and social workers come in. If you start taking children on the basis of cognitive ability, our foster care system in the US will go kaput....

Why is it that there are programs offered to parents that admit they have hit their children, yet no programs for this womasn? Social services at least is the US, is always tooting it's horn that they like to keep a family together. They even go so far to say they believe most parents that hit their children would not do so if they had a better way to manage. These types of parents get chances but not this poor woman? That is not right!

i agree !

One question: How capable is an individual to handle the exceptional demands of a special needs child when she herself was not capable of realizing she was pregnant for 7 months?

why don't they leave her alone!!! How about taking the octomoms kids away...Now there is a freaking stupid idiot mom....that does not deserve 1 child yet alone 14!!!