A Response to Jesse Ridgway: Down Syndrome Is Not the Tragedy, Murder Is

This post is a heartbreaking example of how deeply our culture has embraced the lie that some human beings are more valuable than others.

The child was not killed because he had Down syndrome. The child was killed because others decided that a life with Down syndrome was not worth living.

The entire justification rests on the assumption that disabilities, health challenges, dependence on others, suffering, and a potentially shorter lifespan somehow diminish a person's value. Scripture teaches the exact opposite.

Every child is fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Every child is created in the image of God. God's command is simple: "Thou shalt not kill."

As I read through this statement, I could not help but notice that the child is repeatedly described in terms of defects, risks, burdens, limitations, complications, and probabilities. We are told about heart defects, hearing problems, vision problems, developmental delays, learning disabilities, and the possibility of lifelong dependence on others. Yet none of those things change what this child was: an innocent human being made in the image of God.

The question that never gets answered is how any of those things justify intentionally killing a child. Would it be acceptable to kill a two year old with Down syndrome because he may have heart defects? Would it be acceptable to kill a ten year old because she may require lifelong care? Would it be acceptable to kill an adult because their quality of life falls below someone else's expectations? Of course not.

The only reason these arguments are accepted here is because the victim was still in the womb. The same child society would condemn you for killing after birth is somehow viewed as disposable before birth.

What makes this even more grievous is that the child is spoken of more as a diagnosis than as a son or daughter. The child becomes a medical condition to be managed rather than a human being to be loved and protected. The reality is that this child was not killed because of what he was. He was killed because of what people feared he might become.

Call it what it is. This is eugenics. This is the belief that some lives are less worthy of protection because they possess a disability. This is the belief that certain human beings are better off dead than alive. This is the belief that the strong should decide whether the weak get to live. History has seen that evil before, and it was evil then just as it is evil now.

The fact that up to 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted is not an argument in favor of abortion. It is an indictment against our culture. Imagine boasting that 90% of a particular class of people are killed because they possess a genetic condition. Any honest person can see how wicked that is.

The most revealing statement in the entire post is, "Thankfully, we had a choice." The child had no choice. The child had no voice. The child had no advocate in the room. The child was completely innocent and completely defenseless while the very people who should have protected him decided that his life was not worth living.

The Word of God never tells us to kill those who may suffer. It never tells us to eliminate those with disabilities. It never tells us to destroy children who may require sacrifice, patience, or lifelong care. Instead, God commands us to defend the weak, protect the innocent, love our neighbors, and refrain from shedding innocent blood.

This child was not a glitch, a burden, or a problem to be solved. This child was knit together by God in the womb and bore His image. No doctor's report changes that. No genetic test changes that. No statistic changes that. No appeal to fear changes that.

The tragedy here is not Down syndrome. The tragedy is that a child was sentenced to death because of Down syndrome. An innocent image bearer of God was deliberately put to death because others determined that the challenges he might face made his life less valuable and less worthy of protection.

The blood of this child is on the hands of everyone involved in this decision, and unless there is repentance, they will stand before a holy and righteous God and give an account for the innocent blood they shed. That reality should terrify every person who participated in this act and every person who applauds it.

Yet even now, Christ offers mercy to sinners. There is forgiveness for murderers just as there was forgiveness for Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners. But forgiveness is not found in excuses, self justification, emotional appeals, or pretending evil is good. Forgiveness is found through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

I will not celebrate this decision, defend this decision, or pretend that it was an act of compassion. Nor will I join in offering sympathy for the grief being expressed here while the murder of an innocent child continues to be justified. The grief that deserves our attention is the death of the child whose life was intentionally taken. Any grief over this situation that refuses to acknowledge the evil that was committed is not repentance but sorrow mixed with self justification.

If there is genuine repentance, then there is mercy, forgiveness, and restoration in Christ. But as long as this child's death is defended as the right choice, I have no obligation to accommodate the feelings of those who shed innocent blood. My concern is for the child who was murdered, for the God whose law was violated, and for the souls of those who must one day stand before Him.

The answer is not to celebrate this decision, defend this decision, or call this decision compassionate. The answer is to call it what God calls it. An innocent child was murdered because he possessed an extra chromosome. Repent and flee to Christ while His offer of mercy still stands.