Video of Down Syndrome Boy Hugging Jesus on Way to Crucifixion Goes Viral, Hits 4 Million Views
A video of a boy with Down syndrome in Mexico hugging an actor playing Jesus Christ in a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross has been viewed nearly 4 million times.
The video, uploaded last week on Facebook by Plan C es Cynthia García-Galindo, was recorded in Monclova, Mexico, on Good Friday. Church Pop offered a translation of the post from Spanish, which read: "What does a child with a green soccer shirt do at the scene of a Viacrucis in Monclova?"
The post adds: "Remind us of the most sublime love, that of caring for others with mercy! His innocence, his overflowing love, and his Down syndrome challenge us today. Juan Pablo is his name, which should be synonymous with good hope. Let's teach our children to be more compassionate."
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The video, which as of Tuesday morning was viewed over 3.9 million times, shows the young boy walking next to actors playing Roman soldiers, hugging the Jesus actor by his side, who has his head down.
The debate over protecting babies diagnosed with Down syndrome from being aborted has intensified in the U.S. amid reports that Iceland is aborting nearly every baby diagnosed with the condition, thus practicing its own form of eugenics.
In March, some members of Congress slammed what many Americans called an "offensive" article in The Washington Post titled "I Would've Aborted a Fetus With Down Syndrome. Women Need That Right."
The Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus explained her support for aborting babies with Down syndrome, saying, "You can call me selfish, or worse, but I am in good company. The evidence is clear that most women confronted with the same unhappy alternative would make the same decision."
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., chair of the House Republicans, tweeted in response: "After reading the opinion piece in the @washingtonpost about aborting babies with Down syndrome, I struggled to put into words how offensive it is."
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., in his response to Marcus' editorial, noted that the new Gerber baby also has Down syndrome.
"Lucas' dignity is inherent, given by God, and it stays with him past the cute, cuddly phase of babyhood," Sasse said.
"The truth of who he is stands in stark contrast with some of the news we see coming out of Europe lately. In Iceland, and in Denmark, there are actually groups that brag, 'we're closer to getting to 100 percent than anybody else. We're going to be first to be 100 percent Down syndrome free.'"
Some Christians, including a lay member at the General Synod of the Church of England, have said that the high termination rates of unborn children with the genetic disorder is comparable to actions by Nazi Germany.
"In countries like Iceland Down syndrome has been virtually eliminated. What we have is a very simple situation. The U.K. and Europe has begun to practice eugenics, by default, and without intent," said Andrew Gray, the lay member, in February.
"This is not because of a state-led desire to remove those considered weak or sub-human — we don't live in 1930s Germany, thank God. But while the reasons and the motivations are different, the outcome is the same."
Watch the video below:
