These were the first words of Frank Stephens’ breathtaking video message delivered at Capitol Hill, published by Ashton Kutcher on Facebook on January 25th: 

“I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living. 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. It’s hard for me to sit here and say those words. I completely understand that the people pushing this particular “final solution” are saying that people like me should not exist. That view is deeply prejudiced by an outdated idea of life with Down Syndrome. Seriously, I have a great life! I have lectured at universities, acted in an award-winning film and an Emmy-winning TV show, and spoken to thousands of young people about the value of inclusion in making America great.”

Frank Stephens, a man with Down syndrome addressed Congress on behalf of the entire Down syndrome community to express his right to life, pointing out that without their existence, there wouldn’t be nearly as much research done on various terminal illnesses. He also talks about the “unusual happiness” families of people with Down syndrome experience.

The most moving moment of his speech was when he expressed his heartache over what he thinks is the world’s “final solution” for people like him. If you recall, the Final Solution is what Hitler named his plan to exterminate the Jewish community. 

Probably this was the line that made Ashton Kutcher share this video on Facebook. 

Now let’s be fair, Mr Kutcher is not a pro-lifer. He is a man who dedicates much of his time to fight against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children (you can watch his fantastic testimony given in front of Senate Foreign Relations Committee on ending modern slavery and human trafficking here). But he is not a pro-life activist.

He himself clarifies his stance on abortion on his Facebook site, saying that he is “generally against the government regulating a woman’s medical choices” because the “Government is not church”. He goes on saying that the issue of abortion “is not black and white, or red and blue. It’s grey, it’s nuanced, it’s complicated, and because of science, it’s changing”. 

In his post, he himself explains why he posted this speech:

“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.”

We might say that he is practically pro-choice. But – unlike many pro-abortion activists – he approaches the topic with both his head and his heart and is open to dialogue. And that is refreshing in today’s world.

Source: Facebook

Photo: Flickr