YouTuber Jesse Ridgway responds to backlash after choosing to abort baby with Down syndrome

Jesse Ridgway has shared a lengthy statement responding to backlash over his and his wife Ashley’s decision to terminate their pregnancy after finding out the baby had Down syndrome.

The YouTuber, who has more than 4 million subscribers on his channel McJuggerNuggets, shared the sad news on Instagram and Twitter on Wednesday. “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,” he wrote.

“I didn’t realise just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family. We spoke with doctors, friends, family and genetic counsellors and learned that up to 90 per cent of women terminate their pregnancy after learning the baby has Trisomy 21… You never think you’d be in this type of situation until it happens to you, and then things change.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jesse Ridgway (@mcjuggernuggets)

Jesse continued: “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 pair announced that they were expecting the baby in March. They then found out there was a 95 per cent chance the infant would be born with Down syndrome and were initially “optimistic,” but then decided to end the pregnancy. Jesse revealed that his wife “underwent the procedure” this week and is now recovering.

Their decision was met with a lot of backlash as people shared whether they thought it was the right or wrong decision. The YouTuber has now responded with another statement on Twitter slamming the heinous reaction.

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…

— Jesse Ridgway (@McJuggerNuggets) June 3, 2026

Most Read

Model shares ‘painful’ statement as graphic threesome s*x tape with Diddy gets leaked

So, Mackenzie Shirilla has now fully ‘confessed’ she *did* crash the car on purpose

Breaking: George has QUIT Love Island 2026 after just one day

“I’ve never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision. The last 24 hours have exposed a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing. Being called ‘murderous pieces of sh*t, evil, compared to Hitler’ and receiving NON-STOP DEATH THREATS,” he said.

“Seeing my 6-year old dog with Stage 4 Kidney Disease be used as a weapon, manipulating my words and intent in a tweet or saying we’ll regret this decision forever and must repent to God is absolute insanity. If you ever wanted to marvel at the depravity of people online, just check the replies on my latest tweet. It’s a sh*t-show of epic proportions.”

The 33-year-old continued: “So many saying they would’ve kept the child, put it up for adoption or are suddenly ready to adopt a Down syndrome child, that’s great! You can do all those things. However, many of the people throwing stones don’t even have children, let alone one with a condition and most likely will never do the things they say they’re going to do.”

I’ve never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision.

The last 24 hours have exposed a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing. Being called “murderous pieces of shit, evil, compared to Hitler” and…

— Jesse Ridgway (@McJuggerNuggets) June 5, 2026

Jesse applauded the families who have shared stories about keeping their Down syndrome babies and called them “awesome” and “courageous”. “That is your choice and I support it. This was ours and we can do that. It’s very easy to accept the differences between us when it has no actual bearing on your life,” he said.

The YouTuber said the biggest problem is that nobody talks about this online, and that’s why he and Ashley’s story has gone so viral. “People still need to see vulnerability and hear the raw truth. There is real suffering going on and it is being done in silence and fear,” he said.

“Hopefully, our story has inspired others to open up more and we can all find understanding. At the end of the day, I’m grateful that the discourse about our decision has spread so wide, it’s clearly a very important and sensitive topic, one that we need to pay more attention to.”

For more, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image credit: Jesse Ridgway/Instagram