Outrage as dad normalises aborting his Down’s baby

A father and YouTuber has been criticised for airing his decision to abort a child with Down’s syndrome.

YouTuber Jesse Ridgway — known as McJuggerNuggets — and his wife announced on social media that they had aborted their son because he was deemed to have a high probability of being born with the chromosomal condition.

In the UK, abortion is available for most reasons up to 24 weeks, and up to birth for babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome.

Shamed

The YouTuber, who has over four million subscribers, posted: “To all of my fans who have weighed in on this topic who have Autism, Down Syndrome or any other condition, we appreciate you. 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.”

He reported that 90 per cent of babies with Down’s syndrome are aborted, and that he and his wife shared their decision publicly in support of the parents who chose abortion: “We want you to feel less alone in this and less ashamed. There has never been a more important time to speak up and out about the things that matter.”

‘Human dignity’

However, one mother with a daughter with Down’s syndrome commented: “You write that people are condemning your choice. They are. Not because they hate you, but because they believed your child possessed the same inherent human dignity as every other child.”

Many people responded sharing pictures of their child or family members with Down’s syndrome, with one mother writing: “My baby with Down Syndrome is absolutely a blessing. I’m sorry you were misinformed.”

Another parent of a child with Down’s syndrome added: “If anyone else finds themselves in a similar place, reach out. 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.”

Change the law

Northamptonshire parents Steve and Natalie, who have a daughter with Down’s syndrome, have previously called for a change in the law on disability-selective abortions.

Verity was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome shortly after her birth in February 2023. Steve reflected: “I was very much of the old-fashioned view that I didn’t want to take on that burden – that was the word that would have been in my head at the time. Now I can see how many possibilities there are for any child with a disability.”

In 2022, Down’s syndrome campaigner Heidi Crowter lost a legal battle to outlaw disability-selective abortion after the Court of Appeal agreed with a High Court ruling which said abortion was a matter for Parliament to decide.

Heidi argued that the current abortion rules don’t “respect my life”, and said she would continue to push for change.