YouTuber Jesse Ridgway Says He’s Gotten ‘Death Threats’ for Terminating Wife’s Pregnancy Due to Down Syndrome

After Jesse Ridgway and his wife, Ashley Ridgway, revealed they terminated their pregnancy following a diagnosis of Down syndrome for their unborn baby, they received swift and fierce backlash.

In a multi-part Instagram Story post shared to Jesse’s social media account on Thursday, June 4, the YouTuber — who goes by the name McJuggerNuggets — said he’s “never seen such hate and vitriol for two people grieving the loss of their unborn child and making an impossible decision.”

The 33-year-old detailed what the last day has been like for the couple after they said they made an incredibly difficult decision to end Ashley’s pregnancy due to Trisomy 21 — a choice they said that was not made lightly.

“The last 24 hours have exposed a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing,” Jesse wrote, revealing the harsh words they’ve been called and explaining that they’ve been “receiving NONSTOP DEATH THREATS.”

“What’s more troubling is a lot of these people use God or Jesus as their justification for threatening us,” he said, adding that “seems pretty hypocritical.”

Jesse said that “many of the people throwing stones” don’t appear to have children and will likely “never do the things they say they’re going to do.”

“If you can’t contribute anything meaningful to the conversation aside from insults then just don’t post,” he said.

“On the other hand, there has been tremendous stories of people who kept their Down Syndrome baby and that’s awesome!” he wrote. “Very courageous and they do look very happy! 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 questioned why his and Ashley’s story has received such a tremendous response, writing, “The reason this blew up is quite simple: IT’S BECAUSE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT.”

“I can’t blame people for not talking about these vulnerable experiences publicly because you see the disgusting backlash that ensues,” he said. “It’s very divisive. Luckily, after 20 years on the Internet, this is par the course for me taking on the crazies, so I’m glad I can help further the conversation. That’s exactly why I wanted to share this story. People still need to see the vulnerability and hear the raw truth. There is real suffering going on and it is being done in silence and fear.”

Adding that he and Ashley will “try for a kid again in the near future,” he expressed gratitude to those who have been open to hearing about their story.

“Thank you to everyone who has been supportive during this difficult time and defending our choice as parents,” he said. “It means more than you’ll ever know.”