The Science Was Sworn. The Amendment Counts Only One.
Part 1 of 6 in The Lejeune Testimony, a Watchman of Virginia series.
On November 3, Virginians will decide whether to write a new sentence into their constitution. That sentence names only one person whose health the Commonwealth may protect: the woman seeking care. The child she carries, son or daughter, is not in it.
Every voter will have a voice on Question 1. The one it affects most will not. He cannot vote. He cannot speak. He cannot testify.
In 1991, a geneticist testified for him, under oath. Early voting has already begun. Before you vote, read what he said.
Read the original transcript: State v. Loce (1991), complete court transcript (PDF). Dr. Lejeune’s testimony begins on page 36.
The transcript was provided by Patrick J. Mullaney, who represented Alex Loce for nearly four years, alongside many others, in the fight for his child’s right to life.
The Witness
Dr. Jérôme Lejeune discovered the cause of Down syndrome. In 1991, he traveled from Paris to a small courtroom in Morristown, New Jersey, to answer one question: When does a human being come into existence?
Even the prosecutor agreed he was an expert in genetics. “Doesn’t seem like much of a stretch,” he told the judge (p. 41).
Dr. Lejeune’s answer was fertilization. At that moment, he testified, a complete and unique human being is formed (pp. 60–61). He put it simply:
“I would call it a human because I know that the whole information is human. … Then being human, it is a human being.” (p. 58)
“That’s not rhetoric,” he told the court. “It is just an experimental phenomenon” (p. 43). His conclusion: beyond any scientific dispute, at conception there exists an individual member of the human species. The prosecution called no witness to answer him.
The Case
The child at the center of the case was eight weeks old. The night before the scheduled abortion, the child’s father, Alex Loce, went to court to stop it, all the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Every court refused.
The next morning, Alex and fourteen others forced their way into the medical office. Alex chained himself to the door of the procedure room. The abortion was performed anyway.
Charged with trespass, Alex argued that his child was a living human being with a right to life the law must protect. That is why Dr. Lejeune testified.
The trial judge found as a fact that human life begins at conception. But under Roe v. Wade the abortion was legal, so he convicted the defendants. As UPI reported, he called the child “a living human being that was legally executed.” A higher court upheld the convictions but declined to rule on when life begins, either way. No court rejected Dr. Lejeune’s science.
What the Lejeune Testimony Means for Question 1
Supporters of the amendment say Virginians should make reproductive health decisions “without government interference.” They want that right secured against the next legislature. Women facing a dangerous pregnancy, a miscarriage, or infertility deserve real care. No Christian may be indifferent to them.
But the amendment rests on a premise it never states: that only one person is present. Here is how it defines the only interest strong enough to limit the new right:
“a state interest is compelling only if it is for the limited purpose of maintaining or improving the health of an individual seeking care”
One individual. Before the third trimester, the child’s life is not on the list. The Declaration of Independence says all men are “endowed by their Creator” with the right to life. Question 1 counts only one.
Open Your Mouth
“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8–9)
A mother gave that charge to a king. The one with a voice must use it for the one without. On Question 1, every Virginian has a voice. The child has only the voices willing to speak for him.
The Lejeune testimony spoke for him in 1991. The pulpit and the pew must speak for him now.
Still to Come
This series will walk through the Lejeune testimony, one section at a time:
- Part 2: What happens at fertilization, as Dr. Lejeune explained it to the court.
- Part 3: How genetics shows each human being is human, and unique, from the first cell.
- Part 4: His description of the child at eight weeks.
- Part 5: The cross-examination, and the gap between law and biology.
- Part 6: A closing word to pastors and congregations before the vote.
Read the Lejeune testimony for yourself. Share this with your pastor and your family. For more on what Question 1 changes, read A Plea to the Pews.
Then vote No on Question 1. The full text must be posted at every polling place. Ask to see it.
No ballot can make a child less human. The God who knit him together in his mother’s womb hears him still. And He still holds out mercy to every Virginian, and every pulpit, that will open its mouth for him.
Sources
- Transcript, State of New Jersey v. Alexander Loce, et al., Morristown Municipal Court, April 13, 1991. Complete transcript (PDF); testimony of Dr. Jérôme Lejeune, pp. 36–83.
- State v. Loce, 267 N.J. Super. 102 (Law Div. 1991), full opinion; aff’d, 267 N.J. Super. 10 (App. Div. 1993).
- Patrick J. Mullaney, “God and the New Originalism,” Human Life Review, Spring 2026. Mr. Mullaney represented Alexander Loce from 1990 through 1994 and provided the transcript. He is quick to say the nearly four-year effort belonged to many dedicated people.
- Frances Ann Burns, “Calling abortion ‘legal execution’ may open new Roe challenge,” UPI, April 30, 1991.
- Virginia Department of Elections, Proposed Constitutional Amendment, Question 1, full text.
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, “Constitutional Amendment for Reproductive Freedom.”
- VPM News, “Amending Virginia,” Episode 2, August 10, 2026.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
