Documentary becomes a family project

By Courtney 
Silvernail
For The Catholic Week
In 2017, Lauren and Dan Johnson of Daphne eagerly rushed to the hospital, as they had four times before, to welcome a new child into their family. Eighteen hours later, after a difficult labor and delivery, their precious son Isaac was born. 
Once they settled into their recovery room and held Isaac, they studied his features for the first time. Her stomach was churning as she worked up the courage to look at her husband, Dan. “So this might sound a little crazy,” she said, “but I think Isaac might have Down Syndrome.”
Dan smiled and comforted her, he had noticed the same thing in the delivery room. There in the late evening hours of the quiet hospital room, they held their son and they thanked God for this beautiful boy and prayed for the grace to embrace this new adventure for their family. 
The following morning the pediatrician confirmed that Isaac had the markings of Trisomy 21, though a chromosomal test was required to confirm the diagnosis. Dan and Lauren were surprised as they grappled with the worries and unknown challenges that lay ahead. Yet, despite these swirling thoughts and emotions, when they looked at their little boy, they only saw just how beautiful he was. They already felt the Holy Spirit at work when thinking about the meaning of his name chosen months before. The name Isaac means “he laughs.” 
Dan along with Lauren’s parents, Jack and Jamie McAleer, are the founders of Daphne-based Catholic production company 4PM Media. Out of the blue, Dan received a call from Aloest Films in France, asking if 4PM Media would partner with them on a documentary about a French geneticist, Dr. Jérôme Lejeune. Aloest was familiar with 4PM’s work and, hearing of Isaac, thought this partnership would be a perfect fit. 
Lejeune, one of the 20th century's pre-eminent geneticists, discovered Trisomy 21, the genetic anomaly that causes Down Syndrome. This discovery earned him many awards and invitations to speak across the world. However, he was heartbroken when he realized that his discovery would be used to justify abortion when an extra 21st chromosome was discovered in utero. This led him to challenge the scientific community about when human life begins — that a human person is present at the very first moment of his creation by God.  
In 2020, Lauren’s cousin also gave birth to a beautiful boy with Down Syndrome. Understanding the joy of children with Down Syndrome, Dan and Lauren’s extended family stepped in alongside 4PM Media to help fund this project. 
“This is a family project that we are deeply connected to, and we feel that the life of Jérôme Lejuene speaks profoundly to the beauty of those with Down Syndrome and the need to defend them in the womb. It is our hope that we can help get this film in front of as many people as possible so that others can share this important story,” Johnson said.
Making this film all the more relevant, on the eve of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Jan. 21, 2021, Pope Francis declared him Venerable Jérôme Lejeune for his heroic virtue in the defense of the dignity of the human person.
"Venerable Jérôme Lejeune, To the Least of These my Brothers and Sisters" was released in the U.S. this month during Down Syndrome Awareness and Respect Life Month and is available for free on 4PM Media’s YouTube channel and across other streaming platforms.