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Naim Darrechi knew he was going to create controversy among his 26 million followers, but he didn’t hesitate to stir up the hornet’s nest. On May 19, he posted a video in which he said he had been asked, “Naim, what do you think about abortion?” and off he went.
“An abortion is interrupting a life,” he said. “When a woman is pregnant, if she doesn’t take anything, if she doesn’t abort, the natural cycle is going to make a life emerge.”
To those who are in favor of abortion because they say that “the fetus does not suffer. It is a thing (…) that does not suffer,” the TikToker replied, “It’s not the question of whether it suffers or not. The question is that a life is being taken away. A life that society has disregarded.”
Darrechi was aware that he was going to be showered with criticism: “I’m sure [they’ll make] some negative comments for thinking what I think, but no one is going to tell me that an abortion isn’t taking a life,” he replied.
Naim Darrechi is from Mallorca (Spain), is 19 years old and first appeared on social networks in 2016. His following has grown immensely and today he’s among the most influential young people on TikTok in Spanish. Today he has 26 million followers, which is a very high source of income for him. He’s also a musician and the author of a book, and is present across various social media platforms.
More than 7 million views
According to Spanish news outlet El Mundo, Naim Darrechi could charge as much as $25,000 for a sponsored post, and might earn even more than that per month for his YouTube channel. However, the video in which he poured his opinion on abortion was not advertising. It was personal. In reaction to the controversy it created, he made four more videos to respond to his followers. In total, they have more than 7 million views.
Will being pro-life make him lose his audience? He’s received hundreds of thousands of “likes” for his opinions on abortion—as well as haters who came to insult him.
The young man explained that a death caused by an abortion is comparable to that of a murder punishable by law:
“I can enter your house, turn on the gas and take your life without you suffering. I’m going to get 30 years for murder, and when someone has an abortion, which is the same thing, not only is it free but we pay for it out of our taxes.”
“I would be a dad without hesitation”
Someone asked him if he would then have the baby if his girlfriend got pregnant, to which he replied, “I would be a dad without hesitation. You give me a child and I’ll fall in love with it.” And he titled the video “I want to be a dad.”
“Giving life to someone,” he then said, “and on top of that having the responsibility of raising them, and being able to teach them and guide them, is the most beautiful and precious thing in the world.”
In his spontaneous and sometimes vulgar language, he pleaded that no harm be done to the fetus: “If you got pregnant [without wanting to], well, you screwed up … but don’t kill the baby, okay?”
In the case of a rape, the baby is not to blame
“Watch out,” he also explained, “this is a delicate subject. Imagine you’re a woman and you got pregnant in a non-consensual relationship. Obviously, what’s the first thing that you’re going to say? I’m not going to have this offspring inside me from that bad person.” He went on to say, “Let’s stop for a moment and think, please, before you throw stones at me. What guilt does the person you’re carrying in this case have? Do you really think [the baby’s] going to be a bad person? Wouldn’t it be better to give [the pregnant girl] a very large state compensation for the damages and for the psychological help she’s going to need? Putting another trauma on her and not helping her is not the solution.”
“In the end,” he said, “the baby isn’t to blame for any of it.”
It’s worth noting that Darrechi doesn’t rely on religious arguments, and his TikTok account is full of the typical content of a modern teen, with all the exhibitionism typical of the platform: music, dancing, jokes, videos with his girlfriend, etc. He’s not an evangelizer or a saint; he simply recognizes the fact that every life should be protected, including life in the womb. Hopefully his testimony will help more young people reflect, and understand and support the pro-life position.
And today we celebrate...