By Dan Hart

A vigorous public debate over the value of those with Down syndrome has been renewed after a popular online influencer announced on Wednesday that he and his wife had decided to abort their unborn child after learning through a prenatal test that the baby may have had Trisomy 21.

In an X post that has garnered almost 20 million views and 15,800 replies, Jesse Ridgway (known as “McJuggerNuggets”) related that he and his wife’s decision to go through with an abortion after learning from an amniocentesis test that their unborn child likely has Down syndrome was “very difficult” and “was not made lightly.” Ridgway cited numerous health challenges that people with Down syndrome experience, including heart defects, hearing problems, impaired immune systems, and more. He also noted that 90% of pregnant women who learn that their child may have Trisomy 21 go through with an abortion.

“To all of my fans who have weighed in on this topic who have Autism, Down Syndrome or any other conditions…we appreciate you,” Ridgway wrote. “You matter a lot and we’re glad you’re here. I commend you and your families for having the strength and courage to push forward. As for us, we made a difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family. Thankfully, we had a choice.”

The post has received strong pushback, with hundreds of replies describing the joy and love that their family members with Down syndrome have brought to their families. One user named Dave Bruno wrote about his three-year-old son Josh who has Down syndrome. “Some of the complications we feared happened, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Josh was born early and spent a month in the hospital. At 1 year old, he had open-heart surgery. Now he’s 3, loves life, and is thriving. The hard days didn’t win.”

“If anyone else finds themselves in a similar place, reach out,” Bruno added. “There’s a whole community of people here to support you. It hasn’t always been easy, but he’s worth every bit of it and then some.”

Beverly Hallberg, the president of the District Media Group, also responded, sharing, “My cousin David has faced some health challenges, but that’s never negated the joy and positive impact he brings to everyone around him. In fact, his 40th birthday party had more than 200 people because he’s THAT loved because he’s loved well.”

Others, like NewsNation contributor Jennifer Coffindaffer, shared her experience of getting a false positive for Trisomy 21 when she was pregnant with her daughter. “My husband and I discussed it for about 2 minutes,” she wrote. “We are Catholic, so there was no consideration to abort her. We just knew our lives would change. We bought books, spoke to parents of Down syndrome children, and prayed. When she was born, she did not have Down syndrome, to our surprise. The test was wrong. Tests are often wrong, we later learned. In fact, 10% of positive NIPT results for Down syndrome are false positives.”

The viral debate over Down syndrome comes on the heels of an explosive report published in 2017 by CBS News, which revealed that in the country of Iceland, almost 100% of babies who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome are aborted. Other European countries like Denmark and the U.K. also have abortion rates in the 90th percentile for babies with Down syndrome.

The report sparked a worldwide discussion on the dignity and value of the six million people around the world who have Down syndrome. Bioethicists decried the reports, with Emory University’s Rosemarie Garland-Thomson emphasizing that such widespread abortion targeting a specific demographic amounts to eugenics. “Because the human characteristics that we think of as [related to] Down syndrome are largely identified as undesirable characteristics … it becomes logical to eliminate the so-called disease that is Down syndrome, and with it, the persons get eliminated,” she pointed out. “This is what makes, in my view and in many people’s views, the health initiative of eliminating Down syndrome … unethical and eugenic.”

Experts like Mary Szoch, who serves as director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, concur, saying that Ridgway and his wife’s tragic decision is indicative of a culture that has lost its ability to authentically love and protect the innocent as it attempts to shun any possibility of discomfort or suffering.

“Every human life has value beyond measure,” she told The Washington Stand. “This value is innate. It doesn’t rely on superficial traits a person might have, such as athletic ability or good looks. It doesn’t rely on good traits that we all should aspire to possess like a kind heart or a courageous spirt. No, each person has value simply because each person is willed into existence by our Creator, and above all other creatures, God made man very good. A society that places a person’s value on anything other than that person’s being is one that has accepted eugenics and rejected the call of the strong to protect and defend the vulnerable.”

Szoch continued, “Eugenic-based abortions, which — like every other abortion — tragically and often brutally kill a completely innocent unborn child, are the antithesis of what is required of a loving mom and dad. The duty of parents to love their children unconditionally does not stop with a diagnosis that predicts a likelihood of suffering. After all, every life involves suffering, but every life — especially the lives of those with chromosomal anomalies — also involves joy. Babies who are prenatally diagnosed with a genetic anomaly face an uphill battle against a culture that has decided they are not good enough. These babies need someone to fight for them, and at the top of the list of people in their corner should be their moms and dads. If these babies are just given a chance to live, the innate goodness of each one will be readily apparent to anyone who encounters them.”

“My older sister has a chromosomal anomaly very similar to Down syndrome,” Szoch related. “This genetic condition makes some things difficult or even impossible for her — like tying her shoes, adding numbers beyond 2 and 2, walking on an uneven sidewalk, or brushing her hair. But that extra piece of chromosome seems to have contained an extra ability to love beyond measure, to forgive any wrong, to be excited beyond compare, and to constantly hope for a better tomorrow. Anyone who has met her knows she’s not just a ‘blessing,’ she’s the greatest blessing my family could have ever been given.”

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

This article originally appeared here.