They Had an Abortion After a Down Syndrome Test, Then Told Millions, death threats followed

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/us/down-syndrome-abortion-jesse-ridgway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.olA.FSSc.2L9n2kU4poqS&smid=url-share



They Had an Abortion After a Down Syndrome Test, Then Told Millions
After Jesse Ridgway, a popular YouTuber, and his wife, Ashley, revealed the news, death threats followed.



For more than a decade, Jesse Ridgway has made a living posting YouTube videos, some personal, to millions of followers. It seemed natural, then, he said, to share that he and his wife, Ashley, had decided to terminate her pregnancy after a test revealed the presence of Trisomy 21, a form of Down syndrome.

“This choice was not made lightly,” Mr. Ridgway, 33, wrote in a lengthy post on X on Wednesday evening, two days after his wife underwent an abortion.

“We made a difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family,” he added.

People share many personal things on social media — infidelity, job loss, terminal illness. But almost never this. The post, viewed 22.1 million times, received a torrent of hateful comments from parents of children with Down syndrome, abortion opponents and even the House speaker, Mike Johnson, who called the couple’s decision “evil.” The couple said they had received death threats and been likened to Hitler.

[murielm99]

1. We had the test.

I discussed the whole issue with our pastor. He was very supportive. The test was negative, and I have a healthy adult daughter. I have never told her that I had the test.

I had reasons for taking the test. There had been some health issues in my family that caused some financial and emotional crises. We did not get a lot of support from anyone related to us other than my brother and his wife.

Our health issues have been long resolved in positive ways.

Would I have terminated the pregnancy? I am glad I did not have to make the decision, because I don't know.

[EdmondDantes_]

3. It's a horrible choice with positives and negatives for both

I volunteer with Special Olympics and see the joy and abilities of people with special needs, but it also means I see the extra work, the ways in which our society leaves them behind.

[TommieMommy]

2. It was their personal choice. These people who criticize and call them evil are horrible.

It probably wasn't easy to come to that decision. Most likely very heartbreaking but the best choice for them at that time.💙

[Oneironaut]

4. So many absolute losers on Twitter.

I believe a lot of these people are losers and low-lives in life and go online to try and spread pain in the world.

Also, Mike Johnson is absolute smarmy trash. His pandering to the most low-iq elements in this country is nauseating.

[LisaL]

5. I fully support the idea that people should be able to make

these decisions for themselves.

[Coolgoober]

6. Me

Too

[MineralMan]

7. Well, I would not go public with a decision like that.

The outcome is completely predictable.

The decision, however, is one that has to be made by many, many couples. Each couple has to come to terms with their decision, either way.

However, it's probably best kept within the family, really. Nobody who doesn't face such a decision has any idea what is involved.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

8. Thats why people keep the pregnancy secret for a few months...

So they can terminate without judgement

[MineralMan]

10. Well, that's one reason. The other is that not every pregnancy

succeeds. There are many reasons a couple may keep their reproductive plans under wraps, and that's their business.

Too many people seem to think they're entitled to know everything about people they know. And sometimes even people they don't know. Many things are protected by privacy for many reasons.

I think people should carefully think about what information they provide to friends and family. Unless you're sure people need to know, it's often better to keep some things under your hat, until you're truly ready to announce them.

[LisaL]

11. Depending on what test they used to diagnose Down syndrome in a fetus,

a couple of months would not work. Some of the tests are done between 15-20 weeks gestation.

[GenThePerservering]

9. I don't understand why people have to live their lives online

- does *everything* personal have to be published to the world? Also, death threats are so common these days that they're no more than tics.