Paul Tuns:
Popular YouTuber Jesse Ridgway and his wife, Ashley, aborted their unborn baby because of a Down syndrome diagnosis, after which they complained about the backlash they faced online.
Ridgway, who runs a YouTube account called McJuggerNuggets with 4.34 million subscribers, posted a message on Instagram on June 3 saying, “This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21” – also known as Down syndrome.
The couple was married last year and announced on Instagram in March that Ashley was pregnant. In April, in a YouTube video, they said that they received a prenatal diagnosis that there was a 95 per cent chance their preborn child had Down Syndrome, but Jesse said he believed that the “Down syndrome percentage is a fluke and our baby boy will be born with zero health problems.”
However, by June he had changed his mind. His June 3 announcement said that he and Ashley made the “very difficult decision” to kill their preborn child after receiving an in utero diagnosis that their baby had Down syndrome. “I signed on to be a parent, come what may,” said Ridgway, “but I just didn’t fully understand what Down syndrome entailed.”
National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote, “it’s jarring to see it announced on social media as if it’s a job change or relocation.”
Ridgway rationalized their decision citing potential health issues their child could face. He said, “50 per cent of babies with DS have heart defects. 75 per cent will have hearing challenges. Over 50 per cent will have vision problems, impaired immune function, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, delayed physical development, poor muscle tone, structural issues with face, decreased lifespan, etc.”
According to a 2022 Joint Economic Committee report of the U.S. Congress issued under the auspices of Senator Mike Lee (R, Utah), “Misconceptions about Down syndrome and a lack of counseling following a positive screening likely leads to more children being aborted than otherwise would have been had the parents had better information.” It reported that the genetic chromosomal disorder can cause physical and mental challenges including heart problems and delayed learning development, but “The extent of disability varies by individual, and some people with Down syndrome may only have minor physical or mental disabilities.”
The New York Times reported, “Over the past 25 years, the average life span of people with Down syndrome has doubled, from 30 years to 60.”
Ridgway said, “The choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans.”
Yet Ridgway was not acting out of benign concern for the preborn child. He wanted to avoid the potential inconveniences the child might present. “More often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life,” he explained.
Ridgway said the couple needed “a little time to move on,” but that they are excited to “try again” in hopes of “a better outcome.”
Former senator Rick Santorum, responded on X: “Our 8th child has Trisomy 18. The prognosis we were given was even more devastating. Thankfully I had learned that a father’s job is to love, protect, and provide while shepherding her to heaven.” Santorum added, “You were convinced not to love your child enough to even be born. I grieve for you and your wife because you bought the lies of a society that places yourself above others, even your own children. I grieve you saw your child through a utilitarian lens as a list of imperfections, not as a gift.”
The response to Ridgway’s announcement was widespread. His post received more than 22.4 million views, 18,000 replies, and 29,000 reposts in the first week alone, plus coverage online and in the legacy press. While many agreed with the Ridgways over their decision – one reply stated bluntly “I’d kill the kid too” and another said “Being able to control and filter out these defects is better for everyone” — many more were highly critical, labeling it eugenics.
LiveAction replied: “Your child deserved so much more. Disabled children are just as valuable as able-bodied children. Killing children because of a diagnosis isn’t just ableism. It’s evil.”
Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist, replied: Killing your baby because he wasn’t perfect in your eyes is so sad and dark and, yes, evil. Even if we didn’t know how wonderful people with Down syndrome are. I pray you find Jesus. Life is beautiful.”
Many parents of children with Down syndrome also responded about the joys of raising a child with Down syndrome. One tweeted, “Our sweet girl had a heart condition and surgery, but she’s 100% healthy now. She has hearing loss, wears glasses, has potty training issues, and takes a little longer to learn some things. But she has made our whole family’s life a million times better just for existing!”
Pillar editor JD Flynn, father of two children with Down syndrome that have suffered myriad health problems, wrote: “Raising children with Down syndrome is hard. It gets harder as they get older and I get older.” Yet, he added, what many “don’t understand is that we ought not snuff out people who are burdens to us. That’s the hard truth of being human I guess.”
Podcaster Caleb Parke noted that “Less than a month before their abortion decision, Jesse was publicly celebrating the time, money, and effort they spent trying to save their dog with serious medical issues. I’m glad they cared for their dog.” Yet, Parke wrote to Ridgway: “You spent money and time and effort to help save your dog, but didn’t give that chance to your child.”
Ridgway has said in recent months there was no expense or inconvenience he would not bear to help his dog.
The couple posted a video on June 8 after Ashley had an abortion and they talked to the media, including gossip show TMZ and magazines such as Newsweek, People, and Us about their experience. Jesse Ridgway said his parents were supportive of their decision, but that Ashley’s family was not, in fact encouraging her to leave Jesse.
People magazine reported that Ridgway complained about the backlash, saying that in two decades of being an online personality – some of the stories he created are titled Psycho Series, The Devil Inside Series, and My Virtual Escape — he has never been exposed to as much “hate” for content he posted online. Some people online called them murderers, which he took special offense over, and he claimed that the couple received death threats.
He also told People, “The last thing I wanted to do was insult anyone in that community, advocates or anyone living with Down Syndrome,” he says. “I’m friends with people who have it. I talk to fans all the time who have it. I support anyone with the condition.”
Yet, on a livestream, Ridgway said, “I’m glad my dad didn’t terminate me, but I’m normal.”
Karly Tucker of the Daily Signal reported, “Ridgway signaled he found peace in the commonality of this decision.” Ridgway said, “We spoke with doctors, friends, family, and genetic counselors and learned that up to 90 per cent of women terminate their pregnancy after learning the baby has Trisomy 21.”
Indeed, according to one study, two-thirds of children with a Down syndrome prenatal diagnosis are killed by abortion while other studies suggest is it closer to 80 per cent. In most of Europe more than 80 per cent are children with a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis are aborted including 90 per cent in the United Kingdom and nearly 100 per cent in Iceland. Estimates for Canada suggest between one-half and two-thirds of preborn children with Trisomy 21 are killed by abortion.
At the same time, there are critics who doubt the Ridgway diagnosis and abortion. Podcaster Tony Bruesky called Jesse Ridgway a fraud who has faked family violence in the past for clicks on his social media accounts and he said pregnancy and abortion updates were a “stunt” to gain attention for his social media accounts.
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