On May 27, YouTuber Jesse Ridgeway posted a video of him and his wife, Ashley Ridgeway, discovering that their five-month-old unborn child had Down syndrome. Anyone can understand the anxiety associated with such a diagnosis. Most parents are anxious about potential complications, or how properly to care for a child with special needs.
The Ridgeways’ concern was different. Between guttural sobs, Ashley moaned that she had “the nursery picked out… I was ready!” Her husband’s performative grief similarly implied that their child was already dead.
