Popular YouTubers Face Online Firestorm From Christian Leaders for Aborting Baby That Tested Positive for Down Syndrome

Michie · Jun 6, 2026

A popular YouTuber and his wife have drawn intense online backlash from Christian and pro-life figures after the couple announced they had aborted their baby because test results came back positive for Down syndrome. Jesse Ridgway’s June 3 post that he and his wife, Ashley, had ended the pregnancy went viral, leading to people to call the decision “evil,” “horrible,” and the act of “sick degenerate.”

Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of abortion that some might find disturbing.

“This was a devastating story to see,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “Every life is precious. No child should receive the death penalty for having a disability. This is why we need to ban abortion. Rest in peace, sweet baby.”

Jesse Ridgway and Wife, Ashley, Announce Pregnancy, Then Down Syndrome Test Results

Jesse Ridgway is a filmmaker and digital creator who rose to fame through his viral, multi-year scripted YouTube mockumentary, “The Psycho Series.” Alongside his wife Ashley, who frequently co-stars in his videos, Jesse continues to produce a variety of dramatic alternate-reality web series, gaming content, and personal, reality-style daily vlogs documenting their family life.

Continued below.

Popular YouTubers Face Online Firestorm From Christian Leaders for Aborting Baby That Tested Positive for Down Syndrome

Jesse Ridgway and his wife, Ashley, have drawn intense online backlash because they aborted their baby after he tested positive for Down syndrome.

churchleaders.com

bèlla · Jun 6, 2026

I don't know their circumstances or if they could handle a disabled child. This happens a lot. That's why they do ultrasounds and check the fetus to make sure things are fine. The article didn't say if it was their first. It's not an easy decision.

~bella

RileyG · Jun 6, 2026

May God have mercy on their souls!

RestoreTheJoy · Jun 8, 2026

Michie said:
A popular YouTuber and his wife have drawn intense online backlash from Christian and pro-life figures after the couple announced they had aborted their baby because test results came back positive for Down syndrome. Jesse Ridgway’s June 3 post that he and his wife, Ashley, had ended the pregnancy went viral, leading to people to call the decision “evil,” “horrible,” and the act of “sick degenerate.”

Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of abortion that some might find disturbing.

“This was a devastating story to see,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “Every life is precious. No child should receive the death penalty for having a disability. This is why we need to ban abortion. Rest in peace, sweet baby.”

Jesse Ridgway and Wife, Ashley, Announce Pregnancy, Then Down Syndrome Test Results
Jesse Ridgway is a filmmaker and digital creator who rose to fame through his viral, multi-year scripted YouTube mockumentary, “The Psycho Series.” Alongside his wife Ashley, who frequently co-stars in his videos, Jesse continues to produce a variety of dramatic alternate-reality web series, gaming content, and personal, reality-style daily vlogs documenting their family life.

Continued below.

Popular YouTubers Face Online Firestorm From Christian Leaders for Aborting Baby That Tested Positive for Down Syndrome

Jesse Ridgway and his wife, Ashley, have drawn intense online backlash because they aborted their baby after he tested positive for Down syndrome.

churchleaders.com

No one should be calling anyone names. That's just wrong. However, if one were going to eliminate a child, why tell anyone? I don't get that; it seems to invite the controversy they state they don't want. Maybe it's for clicks and views....who knows?

RileyG · Jun 8, 2026

RestoreTheJoy said:
No one should be calling anyone names. That's just wrong. However, if one were going to eliminate a child, why tell anyone? I don't get that; it seems to invite the controversy they state they don't want. Maybe it's for clicks and views....who knows?

Errr. They are "influencers." Clicks, views, and comments are how they get their income.

RestoreTheJoy · Jun 9, 2026

RileyG said:
Errr. They are "influencers." Clicks, views, and comments are how they get their income.

Seems really stupid and self-defeating to me to put something really private and controversial out there on the internet forever (so your kids and grandkids will see it some day) and then be surprised when people have opinions you don't like. I don't get the whole "influencer" thing though.

Michie · Jun 9, 2026

RestoreTheJoy said:
Seems really stupid and self-defeating to me to put something really private and controversial out there on the internet forever (so your kids and grandkids will see it some day) and then be surprised when people have opinions you don't like. I don't get the whole "influencer" thing though.

Money. Internet fame.

RileyG · Jun 10, 2026

RestoreTheJoy said:
Seems really stupid and self-defeating to me to put something really private and controversial out there on the internet forever (so your kids and grandkids will see it some day) and then be surprised when people have opinions you don't like. I don't get the whole "influencer" thing though.

Yup! I agree completely!

RileyG · Jun 10, 2026

Michie said:
Money. Internet fame.

Yup. Money. No surprises here.

Michie · Thursday at 7:26 AM

My grandson has Down syndrome. He’s tenderhearted, affectionate, hilarious, and content with the simplest things. I honestly can’t imagine life without him, which is why the recent and very public decision by Jesse and Ashley Ridgway to abort their baby after prenatal testing revealed markers associated with Down syndrome left me deeply grieved.

The reasoning was familiar. The child’s life would likely be difficult. They wanted to spare everyone involved from suffering.

As a parent and grandparent, I understand that desire. Every parent wants to protect their child from pain. But this story makes me wonder: when did the possibility of suffering become our measure of whether a life is worth beginning?

I think we should take a closer look at that assumption. It’s become so embedded in our cultural thinking that we rarely stop to question it — and the consequences of leaving it unexamined are far greater than most people realize.

Every child will suffer. That’s not cynicism. It’s reality.

Continued below.

My grandson has Down syndrome. Here's what the Ridgway abortion decision gets wrong.

We rarely stop to ask people with Down syndrome whether they re glad to be alive We assume we already know the answer

www.christianpost.com

Michie · Thursday at 4:51 PM

YouTuber Jesse Ridgway, who announced June 3 that he and his wife had aborted their unborn son because the baby tested positive for Down syndrome, addressed his pro-life critics and people using “God and Jesus as their weapon.” The Ridgways have gone viral and made national headlines because of their decision.

“A lot of the pro-life people are wishing death upon me and my wife, which is hypocritical,” he said in a video posted to X June 10. “And a lot of them use God and Jesus as their weapon and their justification, but like, it doesn’t matter to me because I’m not religious.”

“I don’t believe in God,” he said. “I don’t believe in the Bible. Like, I haven’t since I was 8 years old, and then I learned science, and I was like, ‘Well that makes more sense.’”

Continued below.

‘I Don’t Believe in God. I Don’t Believe in the Bible’—YouTuber Going Viral for Abortion Due to Down Syndrome Addresses Religious Critics

Jesse Ridgway, who chose with his wife to abort their son because the baby tested positive for Down syndrome, addressed his "religious" critics.

churchleaders.com

Michie · Saturday at 7:51 AM

On June 3, Jesse Ridgway, a YouTube influencer with millions of followers, told the internet that he and his wife had aborted their baby at about 20-weeks’ gestation. The reason: a test came back showing the child might have Down syndrome. Ridgway explained that he was hoping for “a better outcome” next time. The decision caused a firestorm that hasn’t subsided, with Ridgway continuing to post on various platforms about what happened and the ensuing fallout.

The outrage over the attempted normalization — and dare I say, commercialization — of killing an innocent unborn child just because he isn’t quite what his parents envisioned suggests that, when push really comes to shove, America is more pro-life than we think. It is a country that still rightfully recoils at the idea that a child should die because he or she is not quite perfect. We know, as a country, that a life is not valueless simply because it is not perfect.

The Ridgways publicly posted about what is silently happening all over the world. For many in the medical community, an extra chromosome is something to solve by subtraction of the child. The Ridgways were apparently told that up to 90% of parents who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis for their child choose to end the life of that child. That number is overinflated. Many families in America choose life for their children with Down syndrome. But in some countries, babies with Down syndrome have virtually disappeared. In Denmark, the abortion rate of children with an extra chromosome approaches 100%. The disappearance of an entire group of people is not progress.

Continued below.

The Ridgway scandal: America isn't as pro-abortion as you think

The Ridgways were sold a pack of lies

www.christianpost.com

Delvianna · Saturday at 8:01 AM

Michie said:
YouTuber Jesse Ridgway, who announced June 3 that he and his wife had aborted their unborn son because the baby tested positive for Down syndrome, addressed his pro-life critics and people using “God and Jesus as their weapon.” The Ridgways have gone viral and made national headlines because of their decision.

“A lot of the pro-life people are wishing death upon me and my wife, which is hypocritical,” he said in a video posted to X June 10. “And a lot of them use God and Jesus as their weapon and their justification, but like, it doesn’t matter to me because I’m not religious.”

“I don’t believe in God,” he said. “I don’t believe in the Bible. Like, I haven’t since I was 8 years old, and then I learned science, and I was like, ‘Well that makes more sense.’”

Continued below.

‘I Don’t Believe in God. I Don’t Believe in the Bible’—YouTuber Going Viral for Abortion Due to Down Syndrome Addresses Religious Critics

Jesse Ridgway, who chose with his wife to abort their son because the baby tested positive for Down syndrome, addressed his "religious" critics.

churchleaders.com

Well, that points to how he was influenced to make the decision. But I do agree that it's pretty hypocritical and downright profane to use Jesus like a weapon and claim death on them. Paul even didn't feel like he had the right to judge people who weren't claiming God.

For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Isn’t it those who are part of the community that you should be judging? - 1 Corinthians 5:12

Michie · Saturday at 10:26 AM

From Jérôme Lejeune’s Discovery to a Father’s Devotion: How Down Syndrome Teaches a Selfish World to Love

Fran Maier discusses the Servant of God and the controversy behind an influencer couple's abortion, telling EWTN Radio: ‘They’ve killed their child, but also something in themselves.’

www.ncregister.com

Popular YouTubers Face Online Firestorm From Christian Leaders for Aborting Baby That Tested Positive for Down Syndrome

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