Abortion opponents think Ashton Kutcher posting this video about Down syndrome means he stands with them

Update, Feb. 1, 2019: Ashton Kutcher took to Facebook on Friday afternoon to clarify his intentions after posting a video online that sparked questions about his stance on abortion.

“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,” he wrote. “There are nuances to both arguments, and 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.”

The actor and investor went on to say, “To be clear, I am generally against the government regulating a woman’s medical choices.”

He then encouraged people to “stop recruiting captains for our teams and start unpacking the complications to make the best choices for our future.”
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Abortion opponents were thrilled that Ashton Kutcher posted a video to Facebook recently with the caption: “Everyone’s life is valuable.”

The video features a speech Special Olympian and actor Frank Stephens gave before Congress in 2017, in which he called for more Down syndrome research and spoke about how much people with the syndrome have to offer.

“Sadly, across the world, a notion is being sold that maybe we don’t need research concerning Down syndrome,” Stephens says in the video. “Some people say prenatal screenings will identify Down syndrome in the womb, and those pregnancies will just be terminated.”

Stephens continues that people who believe that those with Down syndrome should not exist hold a view that is “deeply prejudiced by an outdated idea of life with Down syndrome.”

Kutcher didn’t say enough to determine his intentions for posting the video, and he didn’t mention abortion at all. But advocates took it to mean he opposes allowing abortions after a prenatal diagnosis.

On the other side, abortion rights advocates argue that choosing to end a pregnancy should be between a woman and her doctor. Commenters to Kutcher’s video who support a woman’s right to choose spoke up about the importance of ensuring that women have autonomy over their own bodies.

“I think he’s awesome. But you can not. I repeat can not take away a women’s choice to not have a child if she becomes aware there is a possibility of a birth defect of any kind or maybe perhaps she knows she doesn’t have the patience or the money to care for an ill child,” one commenter wrote. “It doesn’t mean his life isn’t worth living it means you don’t and nobody has a right to tell any women what to do with her body. End of story. Complete end of story. It is nobody else’s choice but hers.”

Kutcher’s character in The Ranch, Colt, espoused an anti-abortion message when his girlfriend, Heather, wanted to terminate her pregnancy. “This is wrong,” Colt told her. “You can’t just take the easy way out.”

However, Kutcher’s wife, Mila Kunis, said in 2017 that she donated to Planned Parenthood every month in Vice President Mike Pence’s name.

“I disagreed with some of the stuff that Pence was doing and was trying to do, and so as a reminder that there are women out there in the world who may or may not agree with his platform, I put him on a list of reoccurring donations that are made in his name to Planned Parenthood,” she said on Conan at the time.

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