Toni Braxton says son's autism is God's punishment

US singer Toni Braxton believes that her son's autism is God's way of punishing her for having an abortion.

The six-time Grammy Award winner reveals in her new memoir Unbreak My Heart that she terminated a pregnancy more than a decade ago, before giving birth to her autistic son Diezel.

She said she agonised over the choice due to her Christian beliefs but "eventually made the gut-wrenching decision".

"In my heart, I believed I had taken a life—an action that I thought God might one day punish me for," she wrote.

"My initial rage was quickly followed by another strong emotion: guilt. I knew I'd taken a life...I believed God's payback was to give my son autism."

The R&B artist said she had a strict Christian upbringing and her parents would force her to memorise 26 scriptures a week.

The singer also touched on the controversial link between vaccines and autism.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence that after my son's first MMR vaccine, I began to notice changes in him," she said, adding that her baby did not interact with others the same way he had before he was taken to hospital.

Source: E News

Author: Martin Zavan, Approving editor: Natasha Lee