Influencer Jesse Ridgway, better known as McJuggerNuggets, recently announced on X that he and his wife, Ashley, terminated a pregnancy after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. I am pro-choice and absolutely believe that Ashley’s decision to terminate a pregnancy, for any reason, is hers alone. That is true whether or not I agree with her choice or understand it. Still, as a mother to a medically complex and disabled child, I was horrified by this announcement. However, I was even more disturbed by the MAGA community’s reaction.When my now-19-year-old daughter, Claire, was born, we discovered that she has three copies of chromosome 2. (People with Down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21.) Although Claire’s unnamed syndrome and Down syndrome are different, they have some similarities. Ridgway shared a list of reasons why he thought terminating Ashley’s pregnancy would be “beneficial for [his] family. He wrote, “50% of babies with DS have heart defects. 75% will have hearing challenges. Over 50% will have vision problems. Impaired immune function, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, delayed physical development, poor muscle tone, structural issues with face, decreased lifespan, etc…”The list he created could have been written to describe Claire, who also has additional issues like epilepsy, asthma and autism.I honestly don’t know what choice I would have made if Claire had been diagnosed prenatally. However, I do know that once I saw her moving playfully during my first ultrasound, I was smitten, and she was mine. I will defend a woman’s right to end a pregnancy for any reason, but I also believe that people with disabilities ― like my daughter ― have the ability, and the right, not just to exist, but to thrive.So although I support Ashley and her husband’s right to make reproductive decisions based on what they think is right for their family, I can’t support their views on people with disabilities, or their decision to declare them publicly.In his X post, Ridgway went on to say, “I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family…more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.” “This isn’t a ‘blessing,’ it is objectively shitty from a health perspective,” he added.Although my daughter can’t speak, she is acutely aware of what is going on around her and can understand more than most people give her credit for. I do not want her to ever think that her life is “objectively shitty,” or that she made the lives of her parents and siblings worse by existing. Elena Hung, my close friend and co-founder of Little Lobbists, a family-led disability rights organization and mother of a child with disabilities and complex medical needs, shares my concerns. “PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME EXIST AND THEY CAN HEAR YOU SO STOP TALKING ABOUT THEM LIKE THEY DON’T EXIST,” she texted me after she saw Ridgway’s post.In his post, Ridgway shared that he and Ashley would try again to conceive and “hopefully have a better outcome.” Of course, there are no guarantees that any future child Ridgway and Ashley conceive won’t have a disability that can’t be picked up on a prenatal test. There’s also no guarantee that their child won’t develop a disability or chronic medical issue after birth. Ableism is not going away any time soon, Hung acknowledges, “But for the sake of all people with disabilities, do it quietly. Carry the secret that your love for your child is conditional to your grave,” Elena says. Some adults with Down syndrome also responded to Ridgway’s comments.“There are people who do not see the value people like me bring to the world,” says GiGi Gianni, an advocate with Down syndrome who has spoken before the United Nations. Heartbreakingly, she took to social media to repeat her simple message: “My life does have value…I am not a mistake.”Grace Strobel, a model and actress with Down syndrome, acknowledged that “most of our families had great fear, worry and concern for what our future would hold” before they were born. While sharing the stories of people with Down syndrome who have gone on to create art, start their own businesses or become elite athletes, Strobel also shares some statistics that fly in the face of the picture painted by Ridgway. In a study of people with Down syndrome, ages 12 and older, “among those surveyed, nearly 99% of people with DS indicated that they were happy with their lives, 97% liked who they are, and 96% liked how they look.” The study also asked the brothers and sisters about their feelings toward their sibling with Down syndrome: “More than 96% indicated that they had affection toward their sibling with DS; and 94% of older siblings expressed feelings of pride.”And the parents who have children with Down syndrome surveyed, “99% reported that they love their son or daughter; 97% were proud of them; 79% felt their outlook on life was more positive because of them.”Elena Hung with her daughter Xiomara, who was born with serious medical conditions.Photo Courtesy Of Elena HungLike Ridgway, I do not believe that having a child with a disability is a “blessing.” However, I don’t think it’s a tragedy either. My daughter is happy, she is full of love and joy. Her siblings are more empathetic, better people for having her in their lives. Her father and I love her deeply, and we know she loves us back. But I also don’t want to discount the hardships the Ridgways feared would come along with having a disabled child. They are real. The hours of paperwork, the endless medical appointments, the constant advocacy, and the worry about Claire’s health and her future are all difficult.But what makes life with Claire challenging and at times difficult is not her disability. Instead, the challenges arise because of policy decisions that are making it increasingly difficult to care for children with disabilities, and for adults with disabilities to live full lives.In response to Ridgway and Ashley’s decision, the couple received death threats and vitriol from MAGA supporters. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called their decision “evil” while proclaiming that “EVERY SINGLE PERSON has inestimable DIGNITY and VALUE.” Abby Johnson, who had two abortions before becoming an anti-abortion activist, wrote on X, “Having an abortion because you don’t want to care for a child with long-term needs is not an excuse.” They, and other prominent MAGA members, are encouraging women to give birth to children with disabilities while simultaneously supporting a political machine that is attempting to dismantle nearly every program currently in place to support them. Under the Trump administration, Republicans have repeatedly threatened Medicaid, which my daughter and millions of other disabled Americans rely upon to access medical care. Republicans have halted Medicaid funding and imposed strict work requirements that are all but impossible for many people with disabilities to meet. They proposed cuts that would have forced the closure of many rural hospitals. Now, Republicans are proposing additional Medicaid cuts to fund the ongoing war in Iran. Private insurance also remains under attack as right-wing politicians and their supporters seek to destroy the protections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), without which millions more people would lose access to healthcare, many of them disabled. At the same time, the Trump administration is advocating for cuts to the special education programs that not only provide children with disabilities with an education, but also prepare many people with disabilities to enter the workforce. The administration has also proposed eliminating programs that provide employment to people with disabilities and pushed to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that make it easier for people with disabilities to gain employment. They seem incapable of understanding the impact these decisions have on families who have difficult decisions to make about whether they can care for a child with disabilities, including many who lack the Ridgways’ privilege and wealth. The author and her husband with Claire.Photo Courtesy Of Jamie Davis SmithAdditionally, we have a president who openly mocks people with disabilities, repeatedly uses the “r” word to describe people with whom he disagrees, a practice that has been adopted by members of his staff, Elon Musk and MAGA podcasters like Nick Fuentes. As a result, the use of the r-word skyrocketed, leading conservative commentator Joe Rogan to state, “The word ‘r******d’ is back, and it’s one of the great culture victories.” These actions contribute greatly to the perception that people with disabilities are not valued, despite Speaker Johnson’s off-handed post to the contrary. All parents should feel confident making the choice to have a child, knowing that the child will have access to healthcare, food and community support, whether they are disabled or not. In the years following Claire’s birth, most of that was a given. That’s not the case today.The Trump administration has repeatedly voted against the very programs that have allowed me to raise my disabled daughter with dignity, with an alarming rate of success. This is the opposite of a so-called pro-life agenda. If MAGA supporters want expectant parents like the Ridgways to feel confident bringing a disabled child into the world, they have to back policy decisions that support that choice.Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.RelatedAbortionPregnancydisabilitymagadown syndrome