Online: the documentary about Jérôme Lejeune, discoverer of Trisomy 21: "The Strength of Love"

(ZENIT News / Madrid, 25.10.2026).- Pope Francis declared him venerable on January 21, 2021, recognizing the heroic virtues of a man who became world-famous at just thirty-two years of age for his discovery of trisomy 21. Indeed, he discovered that people with Down syndrome have an extra supply of genetic material: one additional chromosome on the 21st pair. Instead of 46, they have 47 chromosomes. It was the first time in the history of humanity that the genetic cause of a syndrome had been discovered.

With this finding, Dr. Jérôme Lejeune became the founder of modern genetics. It was the year 1958. Shortly afterward, the debate over abortion law began in France.

Painfully, Dr. Lejeune found that his discovery began to be used for the selective abortion of children with trisomy 21, also called Down syndrome.

Despite the difficulties, Jérôme Lejeune did not stop researching. He had the intuition that, if the cause of Down syndrome lies in the genes, then by acting on them it is possible to mitigate its effects and improve the quality of life of people with trisomy 21. In time, he committed his life to defending children with Down syndrome. He declared: "I had the impression that, if I did not defend them, I, who was their doctor, no one would. If I had kept silent, for me it would have been like abandoning them out of cowardice just when they were being condemned to extermination."

He was aware that his decision would result in the withdrawal of public funding, the ostracism of the scientific community, and even the loss of the Nobel Prize. He said with humor that "if chromosomes have ever had even a slight chance of a Nobel, I know I have wrung their necks. But between that and wringing the necks of little children, is there anything to consider?"

But while the scientific community rejected him because his Christian morality was a beacon of light on consciences that wished to fall asleep, the Church did not abandon him. Jérôme Lejeune was named a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1974 by Pope Paul VI, in recognition of his scientific work and his defense of human life.

He enjoyed the friendship of St. John Paul II, who named him the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life in 1994. After the researcher's death, just thirty-three days after the appointment, the pontiff wrote a letter of tribute addressed to Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris, in which he called Dr. Lejeune "Servant of Life" and declared: "If the Father who is in heaven called him from this earth on the day of Christ's Resurrection, it is difficult not to see in this coincidence a sign. We stand before the death of a great Christian of the twentieth century, a man for whom the defense of life became an apostolate. In the present situation of the world, this form of lay apostolate is particularly necessary."

At a time when human life is under such attack, when abortion is spoken of as "a right" and euthanasia is becoming normalized, we must take up the baton that Jérôme Lejeune offers us and continue his apostolate in defense of life. For this reason, we have gathered in "The Strength of Love" a group of experts who have felt called to defend the legacy and continue the work of Jérôme Lejeune. Perhaps the most prominent figure is his daughter, Karin Le Méné. Karin does not usually grant interviews, but the way HM Televisión approached this work on the figure of her father moved her to take part in this documentary, in which she states: "For my father, every human life was sacred; every human person had the right to live, regardless of age, illness, or social condition. He loved his patients and loved them because he saw in them persons, children of God, not 'monsters' as people with trisomy 21 were often called."

Alongside Karin Le Méné we will find her husband, Jean-Marie Le Méné, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, and four members of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation Spain:

– Dr. Mónica López Barahona, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation Spain; – Mr. Pablo Siegrist Ridruejo, general director of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation Spain; – Dr. Elena Postigo Solana, president of the Jérôme Lejeune International Chair of Bioethics; – and Dr. Pilar García Fernández, medical director and pediatrician.

The documentary recounts Jérôme Lejeune's commitment to the defense of life and of the human person, a commitment that sprang from his deep faith and his desire to serve the Lord, accepting all the consequences this brought to his personal and professional life.

Thank you for reading our content. If you wish to receive the daily ZENIT news email, you can subscribe for free through this link.