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Jérôme Jean Louis Marie Lejeune (1926 – 1994)Bioethics is one of the few academic disciplines and professions that does not have a patron saint. We at The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) think this may change soon. Jérôme Lejeune, a French medical doctor and world class geneticist, was recently declared venerable — the first step on the road to canonization, by the Church. He led a remarkable life that began with scientific break-through discoveries and continued with decades of faithful work defending the right to life of human embryos and preborn children.It is remarkable to me that the Vatican declaration...

“Merci, mon professeur, for what you did for my father and my mother. Because of you, I am proud of myself.” These words, spoken by a young man with Down’s syndrome, were most fitting praise for the scientist who had discovered the genetic cause of his condition. It had long been thought to be due to the misdeeds of the parents, and perhaps even a consequence of syphilis. In 1958, however, a zealous young researcher discovered the extra 21st chromosome in the genes of those who suffered from it. He could hardly have suspected it at the time, but...