Ana Navarro Defends Her Comments on Abortion and Special Needs Children
The View guest co-host Ana Navarro defended her comments about abortion and special needs children that sparked an outcry.
During a Friday appearance on CNN, Navarro mentioned her family consists of members with special needs.
“I have a family with a lot of special needs kids. I have a brother who’s 57 and has the mental and motor skills of a one-year-old. And I know what that means financially, emotionally, physically for a family,” she said, adding, “I have a step-granddaughter who was born with Down 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, I’ve got a step-grandson who is very autistic, who has autism.”
Navarro went on to say “their mothers and people who are in that society, who are in that community will tell you that they 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 the care that they’re able to give their other children suffers.”
Navarro came under fire for the remarks including from CNN commentator S.E. Cupp.
On Monday’s The View, Navarro doubled down on her remarks.
This is a difficult conversation, and I know some people feel that we shouldn’t be talking about social services. We shouldn’t be talking about special needs families, that we shouldn’t be talking about adoption and foster care and those special services that are needed in this same conversation, I disagree. Because I think it is hypocritical and wrong to ban a family from making their own choice about what’s best for them.
Doesn’t mean that you don’t love your special needs family members, that you don’t adore them and they are part of the family, but that we know from firsthand experience just how difficult it is to beg and plead for years sometimes to get some help. So if they’re going to ban a family’s choice, there’s going to be more poor kids. [There’s] going to be more kids in adoption. There’s going to be more kids in foster care. There’s going to be more abused kids. There’s going to be a lot of other things, and those hypocritical states need to step up and provide the services.
Watch above, via ABC.
