Frank Stephens' POWERFUL Speech On Down Syndrome YouTube
2017 ж. 29 Қаз.
325 313 Рет қаралды
We were proud to be in the room last week when Frank Stephens shared his life experience with a House Appropriations Subcommittee, which held its first-ever hearing on #Downsyndrome research. Frank makes a powerful case for the importance of funding DS research.
the fact that this man has to plead to a community that his life has value shows how far we have lost our way...
Now that you mention it...
Roe v wade was always about ugenics
Truth
@Mary Antonio he's saying the sanctity of life whether your a normal baby or mentally challenged has been degraded by abortion
Cyrenne we've never found our way in the first place.
I think a far more valuable member of society than most politicians.
Certainly true
I'd vote for him.
Than most? Than all my brother... I don’t have an issue with politicians I just know how special down syndrome folks are... They are a bright light for this world and definitely a gift to anybody close to them.
He would be more SANE politically than the person who resides at Mar-a-Lago
@@heinrichklaus5717 did Trump hurt your feelings little guy?
this dude has class, insight, wisdom, and speaks truths.
and he's charming and funny.
Great, marry him .
@@justinmacarrhur1924 seriously??
Igcbgvfhtjyjgigjfhffddvgvcjykuocfbgnhifgvngkh
@@JohnWick-gt2vv whats wrong with marrying someone with down syndrome? u being predijuce bro?
Hearing this young man speak has this old man in tears. "We shouldn't have to explain our existence!" WOW. This man is awesome. Wishing this man a long and happy life.
Justin Pullin Anastasia majoras Destiny harmon Alan Doughty
Hahahaha
This down syndrom guy is talking so so so much crap
My younger brother has down syndrome, and he truly is a source of happiness, I love him so much. I would do anything and everything for him
❤️
LOVE IS GREAT
That doesn't pay the bills
Who would we laugh at without them
@@repunklican1181 you bro
He's accomplished more than I ever will.
He's reading off paper his mother wrote he doesn't understand what he's saying
You set your bar low
@@chemicalcabbage I mean he probably has accomplished more then you will he actually had a good job and is famous dude done way more then pathetic people like you
@@zenkai271 How do you know he didn't write it?
Believe in yourself and work for what you want. One day people will be taking lesson from you how you succeeded in life. All the best.
I love that all these professional people are taking the time to let Frank speak and also looking down from where they are and smiling in surprise for this is the first man I’ve seen in history to make a speech on down syndrome
👍🏾
I know this is old, but you should check out Charlie Fein
Nobody should have to justify their existence, and happiness is worth so much! I want my 3 year old son (who has DS) to grow up in a world of inclusion. Frank, you are amazing. Thank you for being a fighter.
@@repunklican1181 yes they can contribute.
@@samanthacole4395 I know you mean well, but people with Special Needs can do more than contribute. They change people’s lives for the best.
He’s a good man
i hope you and your son are living happily today and the days after
Why did this make me cry. God is proud of you dude.
Cmon men You don't Even know if god exists
@@user-xu9vy2uh8n you don't even know if he doesn't exist. There are many signs of his existence, just read into arbahamic scripture. I myself am a muslims and science can't explain why the big bang happened. If 0 + 0 can equal 1 according to scientists I say 0 + 1, 1 being god equals 1 (our universe).
God…then why did your God make life so difficult for this young man you dullard
@@user-xu9vy2uh8n That is not nice to say! Everyone with the comprehension skills of a 4yo absolutely knows that god does not exist!
This video deserves at least 10 million views
You spelt billion wrong
Yes it does!!
It deserves 0 views yeah
I would be proud to call this man my son. If I knew we were going to have a Down Syndrome baby, I would say, "Right on...thank you, Lord!" And who the hell are the 57 hate-filled Nazis that gave this a thumbs down?
They're probably mothers who aborted their babies.
This man makes me proud to be human. Thank for all you do!
Makes more sense than most California legislators, this man should be voted into their state senate.
Hi
rent free
im going incognito
This should get 6 billion veiws
But there's only 7 billion people on this planet
That's not how it works nor how it should work. It'd be very undemocratic.
@@luiss.3866 There's 7,8 billion
Only 4.5 billion people have access to the internet.
@@Crazyman1212 thanks
Sad world we live in when we as human beings have more compassion and empathy towards animals and plants than are fellow man.
If that was the case, animals wouldn't be put in slaughterhouses and tortured for the entirety of their lives.
I totally agree with you, well said.
@@akshatghoshal6098 We are at the top of the food chain. Enjoy your position.
There's nothing wrong with having compassion towards animals.
@@danielchettiar5670 lol ikr common sense
Unbelievable courage to sit and give a brilliant speech in front of subcommittee like that. Truly amazing and inspirational.
God is sure proud of this one. Beautiful testimony. I love you, brother. Praise God for your activism.
Amen!!
Don't diminish this man's achievements by insinuating some sky wizard is in any way responsible for them, I am so sick of you religious zealots stealing greatness from the world and hijacking it for your own moral gains. Your god didn't make him the man he is, he did, and the experiences both positive and negative that shaped him throughout life. You insult him with your ecumenical pandering.
@@Loire83 Your "world" is the one that seeks to abort them out of existence. Oh yeah be sure, you anti science, lump of cells morons make sure the early testing just keeps getting better and better. The only area of sciences that you people enjoy. The areas that can end or ruin a life. This man is a Godsend. Everyone with downs is a Godsend. One day you will stand before your God. Be sure that He is the Lord and on that day your atheism will be your undoing.
@@robertknight3354 I'm not even sure what your point was in the first few sentences, something about me being anti-science because I think this young man's achievements are his own and not preordained by some greater power? Not quite sure where you got the idea that I'm pro-abortion, or an atheist, or solely interested in the eugenics area of science. I'm gonna go ahead and chalk that up to you assuming things, like gods existing and that they're stoked with you spouting rubbish in their name. As to your second point about me standing in front of god or yahweh or allah or jehovah or whatever the flavour of spaghetti monster you fancy to follow, on that day when it happens I will be embarrassed as all hell, I will come find you, apologise profusely, and then I will ask your mighty all merciful deity why is it that love is eternal and a right of all who follow them, but not the gays.
@@Loire83 Think you so much for that thoughtful response to this person's characterization of you and all atheists, I was about to shut them down but you did a perfect job of it. Seems Christianity is not about love at all but about demonising other people and telling lies about them in order to elevate oneself and seem self-righteous.
What a brilliant lad. He absolutely deserved that standing ovation.
I cannot smash the like button enough thank you sir for your diligence and your commitment to this cause. I work with the developmentally disabled and you are my hero sir.
Amen!!
I worked with the Developmentally disabled population for around 30 years and Never have I been so moved by Franks' testimoney in all my years. He is to be admired and respected and yes he is my hero also.
This man needs to be on a talk show circuit. Not enough people watch C-SPAN. What he has to say is insanely eye opening and he keeps it light and fun even though it's such a serious topic. He made his point eloquently.
I cry every time I watch this. That it took this plea to show how lost people have come
Mr. Stephens, your speech is an inspiration to us all. I used your speech with my Home School Kids to teach the value and sanctity of all life. It is truly heartbreaking that those who would use their Eugenics paranoia against you for not being part of their pure race, are now completely in charge of the US Federal Government. Dark days are ahead for us all. Find your refuge in the Lord and protection under Patriots, as we value Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness to all.
Salute 🇺🇸🇺🇲🇺🇸🇺🇲
he's mom must be so proud of him! he's so intelligent!
Jesus christ 😂
Please don't put people with Downs in My face, for their own good, capisch?
Totally amazing, I am wowed, thankyou Mr Stephens.
I’m dead
at first I thought his name was Dr. William Mobley
These are the most beautiful people in the world. So innocent so content with the card they were dealt. If you’ve ever been blessed to be around a person with downs and get to know them on a personal level, it’s truly remarkable and maybe we can take a page or two from their book…
So true. When my brother was born with DS I was sad because I thought he wouldn't have a normal life and be sad or depressed. I talked to my brother about it and what he said was amazing. "To us a person with down syndrome may look as if they were given a bad card in life, but look at them, do they not seem happy? We may see down syndrome as something negative but maybe it was a blessing for them as many of us "normal" people lack what they have and that's content with our lives."
This guy is a real inspiration . So glad I watched this video.
Me too. Beautiful speech
I need to meet this beautiful man. I mean that genuinely. My baby brother was born about a year ago and he has down syndrome. He is the best, most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. The doctors that diagnosed him in the womb pushed for him to be terminated. My mom thankfully said no. I can't imagine my life without him. He is my favorite human ever, and it's not a mental illness. It is a blessing to lives and happiness in its truest form.💓
That was honestly one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard!
He should speak for Biden I understand him
Maybe one of the best from someone with down syndrome. Not one of the best speeches in general though
My cast member!!! It’s an honor being on stage with Frank
surely I'm smarter than Frank
Um@@user-xu9vy2uh8n you’re wrong. Frank is very smart
This guy's got more humour and punch lines than i... just awesome!!
Blows my mind! If we all could have courage like this
What a wonderful advocate for ALL us! Thank you Frank Stephens for spreading Awareness!!!
Who would possibly give this guy thumbs down? Look at all he's done having this great obstacle? I applaud him!
I'll tell you who....some piece of crap that has darkness and total malice in their heart, a true Nazi...a proponent of all that is wrong with humanity.
thumbs down? what do you mean?
@@PlumpnDreamyWalrus because a good society takes care of its most vulnerable people. Make the world easier for them to live in. Stop making excuses
@@PlumpnDreamyWalrus they wouldn’t be as vulnerable if they were born into a world with the proper supports in place. That’s why I and many other other disability advocates fight to make that happen. Common people could help too if they so choose
People who like to murder babies obviously
not out of pitty Frank i love you and your speech will always change a life
It has changed mine, it has given me great hope 💓
Jesus christ
What a beautiful speech and what a wonderful human being! ❤️
Well said and truly powerful words.
Standing ovation for Mr Frank Stephens
God bless you brother. All life matters from conception on. Your a gem💎😊
Frank Stephens. What an incredible man and great spokesperson for people with a disability. I salute you my great man.
How wrong the idea is of those that are "tough" or "strong". This man is the opidamy of strength.
And that´s CHURCH!
The most sensible thing to come from Capitol Hill in a long time. Thank you, Mr. Stephens.
What a role model. He needs way more support and recognition he deserves it.
Great...I have a daughter 35 years old...thanks God for this gift I'm all the time feel that I live for her sake
You have to live for yourself too. You can't JUST live for others.
They bring out the best from people.
They are truly a gift to the world!
Hahahahahahahaha
In 2022, Frank, you are still an Inspiration to all!
Im SO fucked up!
Wow. Thank you so much for this. When my preborn son was screened in Surrey we were told that he was a down syndrome baby and were sent home to make a choice of terminating him. We chose to get another screening, this time at Children's in Vancouver. They confirmed he in fact looked completely fine. While we would have chosen to deliver him, even with the syndrome, it did demonstrate 2 things: the willing readiness of our system to terminate pregnancies and the ease of making errors. He is aware of his back story and thus has his own compassion for the challenged in our society.
Imagine what kind of human you have to be to dislike this video? Awesome video
I want to meet this man and shake his hand. We need to promote people like THIS.
I agree that people with Down's Syndrome are valuable and that they deserve more research on their condition. I do not agree with shaming women for - or preventing them from - terminating a pregnancy for literally any reason.
If you'd ended it "terminating a pregnancy within good reason" I'd have agreed with you, but "for literally any reason"?
He and many others deserve so much better. Might I add, I’d like to borrow his self confidence and speaking skills.
Truly truly amazing I have been in the field for 40 years and I always say they do not look at people's disabilities I look at the capabilities God bless this man
Thank u I’ve worked in the same field myself I’ve taken care of disabled veterans and taking care of people with disabilities and what I have found with the disabled community is that they want to always continuously harp on the fact that they are disabled how that must put a very large strain on the person with the disability and their mental health if that’s all they hear you’re disabled and you can do nothing else I looked up a statistic a couple of years ago it may have changed since then but the short version is that people with disabilities are 90 times more likely to commit suicide and that breaks my heart being somebody who has a neurological disability and the way that people like me are seen I try to look at with people disabilities you know like that not very many people look at them in and I can see that it does probably make them feel like they are seen as not just a person with a disability
Good bless You too man!
This Gentleman is incredible the world needs more people like him not less ❤
Wow. I'm sure much of what he said flies clear over the heads of many watching this.
This man is so strong, it's inspiring
I volunteer for a special needs camp, and I can tell you first hand that people with Down syndrome are the sweetest, most loving people you will ever meet.
I agree. They sure are! 🤍
A brilliant speech. I just found my way to this video. Two years after it was made.
How can anyone dislike this?
I don't dislike this, i dislike My life over others, i have 0 Friends, 0 tru(e) friends
Thanks for including this!
PLEASE share more. This is powerful and inspiring for our son :)
4 YRS LATER STILL THE BEST SPEACH EVER , DOWN SYNDROME PEOPLE DESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIVE , IM HERE CAUSE ROE VS
People first language please I’m just saying this just so you know.
Roe Vs Wade is valid: abortion is a woman's CHOICE. Cry about it.
@@jessicabates2351 there's no need to argue semantics, he's expressing support for them, it doesn't matter which order the words are in
@@kierancaldwell3442 I wasn’t arguing I was correcting the first comment that started this if your not an advocate or haven’t educated yourself you have no right to say this to me and actually it does because it hurts our feelings if people don’t use the peoples first language.
@@jessicabates2351 I'm autistic so I've seen this same "people first vs identity first" debate tons of times (obvs autism is different from DS but this same pointless argument is applied to both conditions). There's nothing hurtful about simply referring to the disability/condition, they have Down syndrome and that's OK, there's no reason to treat it like acknowledging that fact is an insult Also lots of people prefer "identity first" language and find "person first" to be offensive Edit: also, never pull the "if you're not *insert* then you have no right to say that" argument
As a person who has struggled with depression all of my life, I have always noticed the joy expressed by people with down syndrome. I have always felt as if those with down syndrome are a gift to the rest of us as a lesson on how to feel joy in life. Thank God for people like this man, so that we all may be able to find the joy that is waiting for us all in this life.
The outraging part of this is that this man is trying to explain us why he deserves to live. Like if the world thought he is not intrinsically valuable, and demanded a defense of someone's right to exist.
No one is saying he doesn't have the right to live and that we can just go out and kill him. That's utter hogwash. But what he's saying doesn't make sense. If everyone has the right to exist, then women should be constantly trying to get pregnant during their child bearing years. We've denied countless people the right to live by things like abstaining from sex and using birth control.
@@trumpisaconfirmedcuck5840 The right to exist simply means the right to _continued_ existence. The right to life simply means the right not to be unjustly harmed. You need to exist to have the right to life. This is common sense. Abstaining from sex and using contraceptives that prevent conception harms _no-one's rights._ Abortion does.
@@IWasOnceAFetus Allowing abortion won't hurt my or your rights. It won't even hurt this gentleman's rights though. It only harms people who are not yet sentient.
@@trumpisaconfirmedcuck5840 that's just selfish. Allowing abortions hurt the rights of prenatal human beings. Sentience is not what determines human value.
@@trumpisaconfirmedcuck5840 and just because you can't feel or experience the harm, it doesn't mean the harm is justified. We don't kill unconscious humans. Common sense.
Damn. Brought tears to my eyes. Your life is worthwhile, Frank! Keep on speaking truth.
This gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. I'm saddened by the fact that this is the first time I've seen this.
The bravery and courage of this man to present a great and well delivered speech makes me realize that we can all do more than we give ourselves credit for.
So powerful. If a parent finds out their unborn child has downsyndrome in the womb, termination shouldn't be on the table. Instead take that insight so that the parents can research and be educated on how to be the best parents to a child with downsyndrome. Frank is so right, they are the happiest people on the planet and their happiness is infectious.
U are so right man. A person like u with your heart should consider (if not already) a career in the medical felled or in the teacher felled cause its clear that U get it. God bless u bro.
THANK YOU. Finally someone with a genuine heart
They are not the happiest people on the planet and have a full range of emotions just like everyone else
Bless your beautiful soul Sir. You are one amazing man and you do not have to justify your existence, we are all just people. What a great speech, so real, with good humor, if only more thought like you. Your medical reasoning is spot on, we could learn much. I applaud you, I stand with you and I wish you the best in life, YOU DESERVE IT. Much love ♥️✨
Such an articulate, insightful and important message...thank you for opening up minds!
God bless this smart man. He is so warm and personable.
You are an amazing young man! I wish I had just a little bit of your courage, compassion and smarts. Thank you!
😮
This proves once again, You make the World a Happier place ☀️ Those are powerful words my friend. Thank you 💪
I am so proud of you for taking a stand against discrimination. You are a beautiful human being and our world needs your heart. No one should EVER judge another human being for being themselves. Keep using your voice, you beautiful soul. I will be right next to you fighting against this injustice as well. I won’t stop until we have equality for all, and a world without discrimination. God Bless You. 💕🦋🌈💕
Tremendous effort to deliver such a speech. Respect!
I have to!, people is stupid!!!!
Very powerful testimony and very relevant today.
This guy deserves 10 gold stars for his performance in the courtroom amazingly benevolent
Very well articulated speach, well done young man
Dude freaking crushed it. Well done, Sir!
As a learning disabled kid that was hard of hearing I was told by my teachers that i was not worth the accomadation. And still have this told to me at 47 yrs old by current government staff. In british columbia
People with ds have the biggest hearts.
I have no heart
ذوي متلازمة داون هبة الله لمن في الأرض انهم الفرح والبراءة ورعايته كنز في الدنيا يحفظه الله لنا في الآخرة وان فقدانهم في اي مرحلة هو فقدان للرحمة في الآخرة والسعادة والفرح في الدنيا..قبلاتي لهم جميعا وابنتي رؤى احدهم
Every life matters. It’s too bad we view some lives over others. God bless this man.
Hmmmm yes You are right, did You know?
I love him he inspires me and this video made me cry thank you
what a clown
Fund the Research! This is where we all come together to find Solutions and their will be No Problems! Love his Speech. So proud of this young man.
This is great!!!👌
One of the best speeches I’ve ever heard.
Omg. I’m proud to be a fellow human with you sir. I’ll walk shoulder to shoulder with you any day.
You are a BLESSING and a child OF GOD.
Im a child of the Demon
God Bless this man
You are an inspiration ❤️
Fck You, and your cheap words
I love this guy. He may communicate a bit slower but he completely understands. We all have our flaws
I literally feel this man is a better one than I’ll ever be.
Amazing inspiring man. Great speech!!!!
The look on Mr. Pocan's face was so indifferent and void of compassion when Frank is saying "we make the world a happier place". Totally disgusting!
Thank you- brilliant and true!
The most beautifull speach and plaidoiry about the value of life of any different child. Thanks Mister Stephens. Thos xommity mist be honnored to listen this wonderfull Man.
Great speech. Love it.
There is so much value in all lives especially this gentleman. There is So much to learn from everyone !
The most eloquent, truthful, and heart felt testimony that has been presented in Congress.
"An unusually powerful source of happiness" - that is so true