People were horrified when commentator Ana Navarro used her disabled relatives as an example to defend abortion after she was challenged about her Catholic faith.
Navarro made the comments in a debate with Alice Stewart on CNN Friday after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.
“Just yesterday, you cant but be struck by the contrast, just yesterday the Supreme Court ruled down the concealed weapon issue in New York and said it was not a states’ rights,” Navarro argued.
“So apparently states are allowed to regulate my uterus but not guns that kill people,” she added. “So I have a very hard time with the inconsistency and cherry picking of what makes states’ rights.”
Stewart pushed back on that argument.
“Look no one has spoken up in the last fifty years for the unborn child for the sanctity of life, and now, people have had the opportunity to speak up for the unborn child and that’s important,” she said.
“Look, I know Anna is a woman of faith, she has a huge heart, she is very passionate, but also I know that the Catholic faith believes in life and supports the sanctity of life. I don’t understand how you can say on one hand you support life, yet you’re fine with a woman’s decision to choose abortion,” Stewart added before being interrupted.
“And I am not anybody to tell you what you need to do with your life or your uterus!” Navarro snapped.
“And because I have a family with a lot of special needs kids. I have a brother who’s 57, and has the mental and the motor skills of a one-year-old. And I know what that means financially, emotionally, physically, for a family, and I know not all families can do it,” she added.
“And I have a step-granddaughter who was born with Downs syndrome, and you know what? It is very difficult in Florida to get services. It is not as easy as it sounds on paper and I’ve got another, another step-grandson who is very autistic, who has autism,” she continued.
“Mothers, and people in that society in that community will tell you that they’ve considered suicide because that’s how difficult it is to get help. Because that’s how lonely they feel. Because they can’t get other jobs, because they have financial issues, because of the care that they are unable to give their other children,” Navarro said.
Navarro went on to claim that she could compartmentalize her Catholic beliefs away from her political support for abortion.
“And so why can I be Catholic and still think it is a wrong decision? Because I’m American. I’m Catholic inside the church, I’m Catholic when it comes to me. But there’s a lot of Americans who are not Catholic and they’re not Christian, and they’re not Baptist,” she said.
“And you have no damn right to tell them what they should do with their bodies!” she concluded. “Nobody does!”
Many people online were horrified to infer that Navarro was implying disabled people were better off dead than to be born into families that might struggle caring for them.
“What @ananavarro said today about children with special needs is absolutely reprehensible. These kids deserve to be loved, not aborted,” replied one critic.
“We are appalled by @ananavarro’s reprehensible comments. Children with autism and Down Syndrome are gifts from God who deserve to live,” responded the account for Miami Young Conservatives.
“Putting aside how one feels about abortion, do you think their lives hold no value? Would your family be better off without them? How do you go on television and imply this about your family members or those like them?” said another critic.
Navarro was previously a Republican commentator, but she has become a vocal critic of the right after the rise of former President Donald Trump.
Here’s the video of Navarro’s bizarre comments:
CNN commentator challenged on her religion and abortion stance. See her response www.youtube.com