California Disabled Mom Fights to Keep Child (Again)

Fisher: A disabled San Jose mother fights again for right to raise child
By Patty FisherMercury News
Article Launched: 12/28/2007 01:33:54 AM PST

The first time Sabreena Westphal went to court to try to keep her children, she became a celebrity.

Suffering from cerebral palsy and unable to walk or fully use her arms, she was still determined to care for her two young sons. Disabled parents and advocates rallied behind the young woman with the pixie haircut and impish smile who, at the time nearly 20 years ago, went by the name Tiffany Callo. She was the subject of a book, "A Mother's Touch: The Tiffany Callo Story." She rode in a limousine to an appearance on "Donahue."

But the book didn't come with a happy ending. Her little boys were adopted and taken far from her San Jose home.

Five years ago, she became pregnant again. And now she's back in court.

This time, Westphal, 40, is trying to prevent her 5-year-old daughter from being adopted by a couple in San Joaquin County. This time, she has the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on her side and a political landscape that has changed substantially for disabled Americans.

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