Hollywood A-listers rarely ever speak openly about their views on controversial topics because in the world of political correctness, saying one wrong thing can literally end a career.
Recently, Ashton Kutcher shared a video with fans on his Facebook page about how every life is precious. As the video and controversial went viral, the actor ended up the target of public outrage.
The Speech
In 2017, Special Olympian and pro-life advocate Frank Stephens made a speech to Congress about how prejudiced and immoral it is to abort fetuses with disabilities like Down syndrome. During his speech, Stephens urged Congress to reject elective abortions of children with disabilities.
Addressing Congress
Stephens called on Congress to allocate federal funds to research that would help people with Down syndrome. In his argument, Stephens spoke about his own experiences living with Down syndrome and used the speech as a chance to educate Congress about how much people like him have to offer the world.
Life With Down Syndrome
“I am not a research scientist; however, no one knows more about life with Down syndrome than I do,” Stephens said in his speech to Congress, which was filmed so it could be shared online. “Whatever you learn today, please remember this: I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living.”
Controversial Tests
“Sadly, across the world, a notion is being sold that maybe we don’t need research concerning Down syndrome. Some people say prenatal screens will identify Down syndrome in the womb and those pregnancies will just be terminated,” Stephens said.
The Abortion Rates
Stephens was referring to the fact that expecting mothers all over the world are choosing to abort their babies if they are prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome. In the United States, it’s estimated that about 67 percent of babies with Down syndrome are aborted.
The Final Solution
In other developed nations like Iceland, Denmark, England, and France, the numbers are even higher. “It’s hard for me to sit here and say those words,” the pro-life advocate said in his emotional speech. “I completely understand that the people pushing this particular ‘final solution’ are saying that people like me should not exist.”
Justifying His Existence
“That final view is deeply prejudiced by an outdated idea of life with Down syndrome,” Stephens explained. “Seriously, I have a great life!” he added. “I don’t feel I should have to justify my existence,” Stephens said, “but to those who question the value of people with Down syndrome, I would make three points…”
The Arguments
“First, we are a medical gift to society, a blueprint for medical research into cancer, Alzheimer’s, and immune system disorders,” Stephens said. “Second, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness: A Harvard-based study has discovered that people with Down syndrome, as well as their parents and siblings, are happier than society at large.”
A Chance At Life
“Surely happiness is worth something? Finally, we are the canary in the eugenics coal mine. We are giving the world a chance to think about the ethics of choosing which humans get a chance at life,” Stephens explained. “Let’s pursue answers, not ‘final solutions. Let’s be America.”
A Viral Sensation
“Let’s make our goal to be Alzheimer’s-free, not Down syndrome-free,” Stephens said in conclusion of his speech. While the speech was originally made and shared in 2017, it has been shared online millions of times by other pro-life advocates and people who share in Stephen’s views about making abortion illegal.
A Heated Debate
While the topic has continued to be debated over the years between pro-life and pro-choice activists, it has been given even more attention in 2019. In the early months of 2019, some states like New York dropped restriction on late-term pregnancies.
The Controversial Post
Just days after New York put the new law in place, actor and anti-human trafficking activist Ashton Kutcher posted the clip of Stephens’ speech on his Facebook page. When Kutcher shared the video with his fans, he simply captioned the post by saying “Everyone’s life is valuable.”
The Assumption
After Kutcher shares the video, it quickly went viral with almost 20 million views and hundreds of thousands of people sharing it. While Kutcher never said what his intentions were in sharing the video, many viewers believe the father-of-two’s post meant that he was against abortion.
The Support
“You are absolutely correct,” one commenter wrote on Kutcher’s post. “Everyone’s life is valuable, which is why abortion should be made illegal! Babies in the womb have life and their life has just as much value as everyone outside of the womb. Yet many choose to ignore their value.”
Public Outrage
However, not everyone was happy about the perceived pro-life message. Many pro-choice advocates were outraged by the actor’s message and argued that the decision to end a pregnancy should be between a woman and her doctor and that women should ultimately have control over their bodies.
Addressing The Controversy
After receiving backlash for sharing the video, Kutcher addressed the controversy on his Facebook page. It seems my posting of Frank Stephen’s moving testimony has turned into a partisan recruiting campaign,” the actor wrote in his response to the situation.
Not Black And White
“Stop! Let’s make it a thinking campaign,” Kutcher said. “I don’t see the issue of embryonic screening as a simple pro-life vs. pro-choice issue. In fact, I really don’t see abortion as a simple black and white issue. There are nuances to both arguments,” the actor added.
Picking Sides
“As with most things, in this bipartisan political and media landscape – we like to over-simplify complicated issues into 2 base arguments and pick sides,” Kutcher explained. “Then we recruit people to our side that we celebrate or we publicly troll those who oppose.”
A Slippery Slope
“We are genetically diverse as a species by design, for generational survival, and should think very carefully about how we regulate these sciences. This idea of non-dominant outcomes being inferior and non-desirable traits being negative, and then selected – is a very slippery slope that looks a lot like embryonic eugenics and that scares me,” Kutcher said.
A Grey Issue
“To be clear, I am generally against the government regulating a woman’s medical choices,” Kutcher clarified so that his words couldn’t be twisted again. “The Government is not a church. There is a reason why this topic has had decades of political debate. It’s because it’s not black and white, or red and blue. It’s grey, it’s nuanced, it’s complicated, and because of science, it’s changing. So let’s stops recruiting captains for our teams and start unpacking the complications to make the best choices for our future.”
