#383 Two Trisomy Moms Respond to a Viral Abortion Story | Carli Smith & Mandi Moseley

About this episode

Two mothers share their experiences of receiving prenatal diagnoses and choosing life in response to a viral abortion story.

When YouTubers Jesse and Ashley Ridgeway announced that they had aborted their baby after receiving a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis, the story sparked intense online debate. But what if the voices most needed in that conversation were the parents who received similar diagnoses—and chose life? In this episode, Alisa is joined by two mothers whose children were diagnosed with chromosomal abnormalities before birth. Carli's son, Shep, has Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), and Mandi's daughter, Ellie, has Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), a condition often described by medical professionals as "incompatible with life." Together, they share their deeply personal journeys of receiving devastating prenatal diagnoses, navigating fear and uncertainty, confronting the messages they received from the medical community, and ultimately choosing to welcome their children into the world. They also respond to the Ridgeways' public statements and discuss the broader cultural implications of selective abortion based on disability. This conversation explores suffering, trust in God, the value of every human life, and the unexpected joy that can emerge from circumstances many people are told to fear…

People in this episode

Host: Alisa Childers

Guests: Carli Smith, Mandi Moseley

Topics covered

• abortion
• prenatal diagnosis
• disability
• parenting
• faith
• life choices

Keywords

• Trisomy 21
• Trisomy 18
• Down syndrome
• Edwards syndrome
• selective abortion
• medical community
• human life
• parenting journey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Instagram, YouTube, extracarecollective.com

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