Rejection by a modeling agency in Buford, Georgia was not the end of 16-month-old Asher Nash’s acting career, but only the beginning, CBSNews.com reports.
His mother, Meagan Nash, posted photos of her son on Facebook in hopes her son would be considered for an OshKosh B’gosh holiday advertising campaign, according to the report. OshKosh B’gosh took notice, praised Nash on her social media campaign generating awareness for Down Syndrome, and invited little Asher to model in the 2016 holiday ad.
During a meeting between OshKosh and the family, prior to inviting Asher, The Blaze reports Nash said: “He was waving, he was blowing kisses! The CEO held him, and he didn’t want to leave.”
In other reports to CBSNews, Nash said, “I knew when Asher was born he was destined to be great and do great things…so I am very proud to share his beauty with the world.”
The ad is being well received by customers. On Facebook alone, one photo of Asher has 5,000-plus reactions, which are overwhelmingly positive and supportive of the boy. Two of the comments from Facebook users read:
“Yes!!! This company has become the God of all companies. In a world full of hatred, thank you for being the ones to stand up for the children who also deserve love and recognition!”
“I will proudly put my children in OshKosh clothing – especially now. Thank you for showing the world that every child matters, including the differently abled. 🙂 Hats off to you!!!!”
Every child does matter, and this news comes in sharp contrast to reports out of France earlier this week when its Senate said alternatives to abortion constitute “horrors and lies,” as reported by the Free Beacon. Those advocating for life may be prosecuted, jailed and fined under the new French laws for “exercising, by any mean, moral and psychological pressures, threats or any act of intimidation against people seeking information on a voluntarily termination of pregnancy.”
This is of even more significance given the pressure to abort children with special needs. LifeNews recently ran an article highlighting statistics and stories about parents feeling pressured to pursue abortion once Down syndrome was prenatally detected. Studies of parents of children with Down syndrome found that many doctors tend not to give a promising prognosis, instead focusing on the worst case scenarios and other challenges rather than the value of their child’s life or the resources available to help families of children with special needs.
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Furthermore, the pressure to abort children with potential disabilities is not limited to Down syndrome. The pressure can be there for defects such as cleft lip and palate, or a club foot, both of which are easily correctable, The Guardian reports.
The practice is not new. In ancient Rome and Sparta, babies with clefts were often drowned or abandoned in the wilderness, and in the Middle Ages, clefts were perceived as a satanic influence in both the mother and child, according to the report.
Women, their families, and their loved ones need the information available to make informed decisions, and not feel pressured to abort because of the possibility of a problem.
“To welcome the weakest, helping them on their journey, is a sign of civilization. Thus [those with handicaps] should not be left alone, but to be welcomed by society and, according to their abilities, integrated into it as full members,” Pope John Paul II told the Catholic World Report.
Whether they have Down syndrome or any other disability, children should not be considered for abortion. No matter what their abilities, their lives still are valuable, and their parents should be reassured of this. In the case of Asher, not only have his parents been blessed by his life, but OshKosh B’gosh customers throughout the world have expressed their joy and love for this child as well.
