YouTuber Jesse Ridgway has spoken about the “severe backlash” he and his wife, Ashley, have faced after deciding to terminate a pregnancy when tests showed a high chance their baby would be born with Down syndrome.

Ridgway, known to millions as @McJuggerNuggets, drew a strong response online after announcing the decision two days after Ashley underwent the abortion, following tests revealing the presence of Trisomy 21.

The decision reignited debate around abortion, drawing criticism from conservative commentators and pro-life activists, who described it as “horrific” and branded Ridgway “a monster.” Parents of children with Down syndrome also spoke out, while House Speaker Mike Johnson waded into the discussion, calling the couple’s actions “evil.”

A week after the announcement, Ridgway told Newsweek they were still “all over the place” from the double blow of making such a difficult decision and the online reaction in some quarters.

“I've been sharing my life on social media for almost 20 years—it’s our full-time career. We have an intimate relationship with our audience. It was hell and hurt to be transparent with them, and now it’s become this huge debate. We’re definitely getting really severe backlash, and a lot of support as well—it’s just that the backlash is way louder,” Ridgway said.

"We were so excited just to be first-time parents and share, ‘hey, we have a baby coming,’ and then all of a sudden we got the bad news."

He said that once they made the decision to abort, after weeks of research and weighing up their options, he felt it was important to be honest about what had happened because it’s a decision other women and couples will have faced.

“This is a real situation, and I think sharing it will benefit other women going through this," he said. "I can’t say I’ve seen many other couples publicly in this situation, yet we know thousands of abortions are happening daily. It just happens kind of in the shadows.”

Many women and couples face these difficult decisions. An estimated 1,126,000 abortions were provided by U.S. clinicians in 2025, according to the Guttmacher Institute, while one major scientific review found about 67 percent of pregnancies diagnosed with Down syndrome were terminated, with rates ranging from 61 percent to 93 percent.

Ridgway acknowledged the topic is “highly sensitive” and that “it’s the nature of online” for everyone to have an opinion, but said he has been surprised by some responses from the pro-life side of the debate, including death threats.

“I was not expecting people to be so callous and to threaten our lives,” he said. “You believe in life and want to safeguard it, but you’re threatening to kill me and my wife and hoping we never get pregnant again.”

Ridgway’s announcement also drew strong responses from parents raising children with Down syndrome, who shared pictures of their kids alongside messages about their lives.

Ridgway said that while he understands why some families share positive experiences, he believes more attention should be given to the “brutal, harsh reality.”

He noted that many individuals with Trisomy 21 face “serious, severe health problems” and often shorter lifespans, adding that in some cases the condition can be so severe “that the baby doesn’t even make it out of birth.”

The average life expectancy of an adult with Down syndrome today is around 60 years—more than double what it was 40 years ago. However, life expectancy remains around 20 to 30 years shorter than that of the general population.

A study published in The Lancet found that adults with Down syndrome are at higher risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, as well as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and endocrine disorders. Research published in the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Review also identified elevated risks of leukemia, immune dysfunction, gastrointestinal disorders, and musculoskeletal issues such as osteoporosis and joint instability.

“I hope people sharing those images and stories understand this was not an easy decision,” Ridgway said. “We’ve thought about it a lot, and we’re not trying to diminish families who have children with Down syndrome and made that choice. It just didn’t make sense for us.”

Before this, Ridgway said he had not “given much thought” to the abortion debate. “I think a lot of people avoid the topic because they’re afraid of differing opinions and aren’t entirely sure what they would do,” he said.

That has since changed. “Through this experience, I’m 100 percent pro-choice, and I empathize more with couples and women facing this decision. That’s why, despite the backlash, I’m continuing to speak out,” he said.

Alongside the critics, the decision to speak out has also drawn support, with Ridgway saying they have been flooded with messages from women thanking him for addressing the issue. "I'm still just so shocked that, one couple's abortion became mainstream news when there's a million a year in America," he said. "This is happening all the time, nobody's talking about it."

Though he admits there are days when he feels like he’s “running on fumes,” Ridgway has no regrets about sharing the news and no plans to step back from social media.

“As long as you genuinely believe in what you're doing, and the intent is right, and there’s value in it, then pushing through makes sense,” he said. “When we get all these messages and emails from women, how can we stop?”