Human Life Alliance of MN Education Fund, Inc.

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Dr. Jerome LeJeune, M.D., Ph. D., explains much about the beginning of human life. Unlike the popular view that a baby becomes more developed and thus “more human” as the weeks of pregnancy go on, Dr. LeJeune says that the fertilized egg, at its earliest stages, is no less human than a person later in life.

According to LeJeune: “Each of us has a very precise starting point which is the time at which the whole necessary and sufficient genetic information is gathered inside one cell, the fertilized egg, and this is the moment of fertilization. There is not the slightest doubt about that and we know that this information is written on a kind of ribbon which we call the DNA.” He tells how a fertilized egg contains more information about the person than could be stored in five sets (not volumes) of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Dr. LeJeune states that medical professionals can now determine within three to seven days after fertilization if the new baby is a boy or a girl. “At no time is the human being a blob of protoplasm. As far as your nature is concerned, I see no difference between the early person that you were at conception and the late person which you are now. You were, and are, a human being.”

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NOTE: Dr. LeJeane died April 3, 1994. He was a medical doctor, a Doctor of Science and a professor of Fundamental Genetics for over 20 years. Dr. LeJeane discovered the genetic cause of Down Syndrome and received the Kennedy Prize for the discovery. In addition, he was given the world’s highest award for work in the field of genetics, the Memorial Alien Award Medal.

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