BREAKING: Etienne-Emile Baulieu, Abortion Pill inventor Is Dead [PHOTO]
Etienne-Emile Baulieu, the renowned French scientist who developed the abortion pill, has died at the age of 98.
His wife, Simone Harari Baulieu confirmed to AFP that he passed away at his home in Paris on Friday.
A trailblazing researcher and physician, Baulieu was internationally recognised for his work in reproductive health, most notably the creation of the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone.
The pill offered a non-surgical abortion method to millions of women worldwide, transforming reproductive healthcare.
“His research was guided by his commitment to the progress made possible by science, his dedication to women’s freedom, and his desire to enable everyone to live better, longer lives,” his wife said in a statement.
Baulieu’s decades-long advocacy for mifepristone saw him confront political resistance, especially from anti-abortion groups.
Despite facing threats and legal battles, he remained resolute in promoting women’s reproductive rights. When the US state of Wyoming banned the pill in 2023, he condemned the move as “scandalous,” adding at the time that he had dedicated much of his life to “increasing the freedom of women”.
French Equality Minister Aurore Berge expressed condolences following his death, stating on X that he was “guided throughout his life by one requirement: human dignity.”
Born Etienne Blum on 12 December 1926 in Strasbourg to Jewish parents, Baulieu was raised by his mother after his father’s death.
At 15, he joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation, changing his name to Emile Baulieu, later adopting Etienne as well.
After the war, he trained as a doctor and pursued scientific research, specialising in steroid hormones. His work caught the attention of Gregory Pincus, the creator of the contraceptive pill, who encouraged Baulieu in 1961 to focus on sex hormones.
Back in France, Baulieu devised a method to block progesterone, the hormone vital for pregnancy, paving the way for mifepristone’s development in 1982.
Baulieu endured fierce backlash from opponents of abortion. He was dragged before courts and accused of inventing a “death pill” by US anti-abortion groups. Still, he remained unshaken. “Adversity slides off him like water off a duck’s back,” Simone Harari Baulieu told AFP.
Honoured with France’s highest distinction in 2023, President Emmanuel Macron praised Baulieu’s perseverance.
“You, a Jew and a resistance fighter, you were overwhelmed with the most atrocious insults and even compared to Nazi scientists,” Macron said. “But you held on, for the love of freedom and science.”
