On Tuesday, YouTube creator Jesse Ridgway announced on X that he and his wife decided to abort their baby due to a confirmation of Trisomy 21.
In April, the couple planned a gender reveal video to share with Ridgway’s audience. A video captured the couple receiving the news that the genetic testing revealed a positive result for Trisomy 21. The couple then decided to get an amniocentesis, typically performed between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy, to confirm the diagnosis.
Ridgway posted a video on his YouTube of the couple receiving the results of that test.
In his post on X this week, Ridgway wrote, “This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21. 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 no matter what we decided.”
He noted that his wife was recovering from the procedure and that it was a traumatic experience for both of them. “When I first confronted this news, I was shocked but optimistic. If they’re a little slow intellectually, then we’ll make it work. I signed on to be a parent, come what may…but I just didn’t fully understand what Down Syndrome entailed. Once we made it public, it became clear that MOST people don’t know what Down Syndrome entails.” He added details about the health complications that affect many people with Down Syndrome, as well as the miscarriage risk for the mother.
Sin has given us an evil society where a baby is killed by his own parents who dare to announce their crime publicly and even say:
— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) June 4, 2026
“Thankfully, everything went smoothly”
WHAT AN EVIL WORLD WE LIVE IN
Lord, have mercy.
Pray for their repentance and conversion. https://t.co/sFcDIQlsWj
“We spoke with doctors, friends, family and genetic counselors and learned that up to 90% of women terminate their pregnancy after learning the baby has Trisomy 21,” he wrote. “This was WAY higher than I expected, I thought it would be lower given that I hear so many say they kept or would keep the baby.”
The way that Ridgway closed his statement jarred much of the public on X: “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. It will take a little time to move on, but we are excited to try again in the future and hopefully have a better outcome.”
The post has received 6.1 million views, but the negative reactions are overwhelming.
Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life and a Catholic, wrote “I feel so bad for your child who you killed. He or she didn’t deserve death because they would have had a more challenging life than others. Death was not a cure. To every person who is reading and has Downs, cystic fibrosis, or another potentially fatal genetic disability, I hope you know your life has just as much value as anyone else. Yes, your life will be physically harder but life is always worth living.”
“Holy crap. Just out here boasting about murdering a beautiful child with no remorse. Your baby was brutally and torturously murdered in his mother’s womb…the place that should have been the safest. I hope you think about his fear as he was torn apart. I hope you think about his pain. Meanwhile, you’re saving your dog with cancer. What a monster of a man you are,” wrote Abby Johnson, a former abortionist and Catholic convert.
The account for Live Action, a pro-life organization run by Catholic Lila Grace Rose, added, “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.”
Many in the comments expressed disgust that Ridgway monetized the video of amniocentesis results, and several chimed in with their own stories of how beautiful their Down Syndrome children are or how they had received false positive testing for Down Syndrome and their children were born completely healthy.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
