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Birthe Lejeune, wife of Servant of God Jerome Lejeune, speaks in Herndon

Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

Birthe Lejeune speaks about Down syndrome as a pro-life cause for Divine Mercy Care at the Hilton Dulles hotel in Herndon Oct. 18. ELIZABETH A. ELLIOTT | CATHOLIC HERALD

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Birthe Lejeune, wife of Servant of God Jérôme Lejeune
who discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome, spoke about Down syndrome as
a pro-life cause for Divine Mercy Care at the Hilton Dulles Hotel in Herndon
Oct. 18. This was the second part of an education series sponsored by Divine
Mercy Care and Tepeyac OB-GYN.

Birthe, vice chairman of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, was
named an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy for Life in June.

John Bruchalski of Tepeyac OB/GYN and
Divine Mercy Care in Fairfax, gave the opening remarks.

In August, CBS reported a story from Iceland about how the
country is eradicating Down syndrome by providing abortions for women who
discover their baby has the genetic disorder through prenatal testing.
Bruchalski said in Denmark, 98 percent of pregnancies with Down syndrome
diagnoses are terminated.

In France, the home of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, 77
percent of Down syndrome pregnancies end in termination. In the United States,
it is 67 percent.

“This is why Down syndrome is a pro-life cause and this is
why we are here tonight,” he said. “This is why we try to have these
educational conversations at Divine Mercy Care and Tepeyac OB/GYN.”

Lejeune’s visit coincided with the timing of Down syndrome
awareness month. Jerome Lejeune is a hero of Bruchalski, who has had
a great relationship with the foundation in France.

Lejeune shared the life story of her husband and their
shared work caring for the most vulnerable through research, education and
advocacy. “He was so sad when he saw his discovery used against his patients,”
she said. “(The doctors) said it was wonderful because now we can tell them and
end the life of the sick baby by abortion.”

Parents of children with Down syndrome in France were
encouraged to hide their children, but Lejeune said her husband worked to
convince parents to be proud of them.

“He was really anxious to know who would continue to defend
and find a cure for these children,” she said of her husband. He died in 1994.

Lejeune said the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation provides
research, care and defends children with Down syndrome.  

Fran Van de Voorde doesn’t have a child with Down syndrome
nor does anyone in her family. She attended the talk, instead, from a pro-life
perspective. “The thing that this talk has done for me is it has shifted the
perspective of how you look at people with Down syndrome, not just from a position
of being pro-life but of them being a person and how they should be able to
live their lives,” she said.

Will Waldron, executive director of Divine Mercy Care, said
that through research people can show how those with Down syndrome can have
full lives. “There is research on how we educate people with Down syndrome and
that they can be engaged,” said Waldron. “That’s a message the secular world
can really understand.”

He said those with faith know we all have crosses to
bear. “For those with Trisomy 21 and Down syndrome, their cross is obvious and
we see it every day,” Waldron said. “I think that is the inspiration — there is
hope for them to be their best advocates — we hope to share through research
that they can be their own best advocates.”

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