Paris, France, Nov 23, 2016 / 14:23 pm
A French court has drawn international backlash for ruling that a popular video showing happy children with Down syndrome was "inappropriate" for French television.
"It's so absurd. I have never heard of a ruling so egregious," said Michelle Sie Whitten, president and CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.
She called the decision "shocking" and "offensive," adding that it "flies in the face of freedom of speech."
The video in question, entitled "Dear Future Mom," was released in 2014 for World Down Syndrome Day and has received more than 7 million viewers online alone. It shows children with Down syndrome from around the world reassuring a mother whose child has received a diagnosis. The children tell her that her child "can be happy – just like I am" and reinforce what they are able to do and accomplish.