Abortion pill inventor Etienne-Emile Baulieu dies aged 98
French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, known as the inventor of the abortion pill, died at the age of 98 at his home in Paris on Friday, his wife told AFP.
The doctor and researcher, who achieved worldwide renown for his work that led to the pill, had an eventful life that included fighting in the French resistance and becoming friends with artists such as Andy Warhol.
"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," Baulieu's wife Simone Harari Baulieu said in a statement.
Baulieu's most well-known discovery helped create the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone, which provided a safe and inexpensive alternative to surgical abortion to millions of women across the world.
His work meant he also faced fierce criticism and sometimes threats from opponents of abortion.
After Wyoming became the first US state to outlaw the use of the abortion pill in 2023, Baulieu told AFP it was "scandalous".
Baulieu said he had dedicated a large part of his life to "increasing the freedom of women," and the ban was a step in the opposite direction.
- 'Fascinated by artists' -
Born on December 12, 1926 in Strasbourg to Jewish parents, Etienne Blum was raised by his feminist mother after his father, a doctor, died.
He changed his name to Emile Baulieu when he joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation at the age of 15, then later adding Etienne.
After the war, he became a self-described "doctor who does science," specialising in the field of steroid hormones.
Invited to work in the United States, Baulieu was noticed in 1961 by Gregory Pincus, known as the father of the contraceptive pill, who convinced him to focus on sex hormones.
Back in France, Baulieu designed a way to block the effect of the hormone progesterone, which is essential for the egg to implant in the uterus after fertilisation.
This led to the development of mifepristone in 1982.
In the 1960s, the literature fan had become friends with artists such as Andy Warhol.
He said he was "fascinated by artists who claim to have access to the human soul, something that will forever remain beyond the reach of scientists."
- Alzheimer's, depression research -
Baulieu kept going into Parisian office into his mid-90s.
"I would be bored if I did not work anymore," he said in 2023.
His recent research has included trying to find a way to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease, as well as a treatment for severe depression, for which clinical trials are currently underway across the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron presented Baulieu with the Grand-Croix de la Legion d'Honneur in 2023, the top rank in France's honours system.
"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."
In the United States, Baulieu was also awarded the prestigious Lasker prize in 1989.
The widower of Yolande Compagnon, Baulieu married Simone Harari in 2016.
He leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, according to the statement released by his family.
ber-ito-dl/jm
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Retired great Hakuho to quit sumo over stable row: reports
Retired sumo great Hakuho is set to quit the ancient Japanese sport, reports say (Philip FONG) Retired sumo great Hakuho will quit the ancient Japanese sport following a row over the forced closure of his wrestling stable for physical abuse, reports said Monday. The Mongolian-born Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shuttered in April last year when one of his proteges was accused of bullying. Advertisement Hakuho was also handed an embarrassing demotion for failing to control the behaviour of Hokuseiho, who allegedly punched his lower-ranked stablemates and stole money from them. The future of Hakuho's stable is still unclear more than a year later, leading the 40-year-old to tender his resignation to the Japan Sumo Association, reports said. The reports said his resignation was accepted at an extraordinary board meeting in Tokyo. When contacted by AFP, the Japan Sumo Association declined to comment. Hakuho, who is currently in Mongolia according to posts he has made on social media, is expected to hold a news conference next week. Advertisement Born Munkhbat Davaajargal, Hakuho moved to Japan aged 15 and made his sumo debut in 2001. He won his first top-division title in 2006 and went on to fight at the sport's highest rank of yokozuna more times than anyone in history. amk/dh
Business Wire
29 minutes ago
- Business Wire
CARMAT Announces the First Commercial Implants of Its Aeson® Artificial Heart Outside the European Union
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: CARMAT (FR0010907956, ALCAR), designer and developer of the world's most advanced total artificial heart, aiming to provide a therapeutic alternative for people suffering from advanced biventricular heart failure (the ' Company ' or ' CARMAT '), today announces the first implants of its Aeson® artificial heart in a commercial set-up, outside the European Union (EU). Two implants of Aeson® artificial heart were performed during the week commencing May 26, 2025 in Israel. The first one was carried out at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem by a team led by Pr Offer Amir, Pr Rabea Asleh and Dr Amit Korach, respectively director of the Heart Institute, director of heart failure unit and director of the cardiac surgery department at Hadassah Medical Center. The second one was carried out at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan (Tel Aviv), by a team led by Dr Jeff Morgan, Dr Leonid Sternik, Dr Alex Fardman and Dr Eyal Nachum, respectively head of mechanical support unit, director of cardiac surgery department, heart failure cardiologist and cardiac transplant surgeon. Those are the first Aeson® implants made in a commercial set-up outside the European Union. These implants bring to 5 the total number of countries 1 where commercial implants have been performed so far. They confirm the trust placed in the device by healthcare professionals, and the growing interest in the therapy. About CARMAT CARMAT is a French MedTech that designs, manufactures and markets the Aeson ® artificial heart. The Company's ambition is to make Aeson ® the first alternative to a heart transplant, and thus provide a therapeutic solution to people suffering from end-stage biventricular heart failure, who are facing a well-known shortfall in available human grafts. The world's first physiological artificial heart that is highly hemocompatible, pulsatile and self-regulated, Aeson ® could save, every year, the lives of thousands of patients waiting for a heart transplant. The device offers patients quality of life and mobility thanks to its ergonomic and portable external power supply system that is continuously connected to the implanted prosthesis. Aeson ® is commercially available as a bridge to transplant in the European Union and other countries that recognize CE marking. Aeson ® is also currently being assessed within the framework of an Early Feasibility Study (EFS) in the United States. Founded in 2008, CARMAT is based in the Paris region, with its head offices located in Vélizy-Villacoublay and its production site in Bois-d'Arcy. The Company can rely on the talent and expertise of a multidisciplinary team of circa 200 highly specialized people. CARMAT is listed on the Euronext Growth market in Paris (Ticker: ALCAR / ISIN code: FR0010907956). For more information, please go to and follow us on LinkedIn. Disclaimer This press release and the information it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe, for CARMAT shares in any country. This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the Company's objectives and outlook. These forward-looking statements are based on the current estimates and anticipations of the Company's management and are subject to risk factors and uncertainties, including those described in its Universal Registration Document filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers) (the 'AMF') under number D.25-0345 (the ' 2024 Universal Registration Document '), available free of charge on the websites of CARMAT ( and the AMF ( Readers' attention is particularly drawn to the fact that the Company's current cash runway is limited to mid-June 2025 (excluding the flexible equity financing line entered into with IRIS, which was announced on March 27, 2025). The Company is also subject to other risks and uncertainties, such as its ability to implement its strategy, the pace of development of its production and sales, the pace and results of ongoing or planned clinical trials, technological evolution and competitive environment, regulatory changes, industrial risks, and all risks associated with the Company's growth management. The Company's forward-looking statements mentioned in this press release may not be achieved due to these elements or other risk factors and uncertainties, whether unknown or not considered material and specific by the Company as of today. Aeson® is an active implantable medical device commercially available in the European Union and other countries recognising the CE mark. The Aeson® total artificial heart is intended to replace the ventricles of the native heart and is indicated as a bridge to transplant in patients with end-stage biventricular heart failure (Intermacs classes 1-4) who cannot benefit from maximal medical therapy or a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and who are likely to benefit from a heart transplant within 180 days of implantation. The decision to implant and the surgical procedure must be carried out by healthcare professionals trained by the manufacturer. The documentation (clinician's manual, patient's manual and alarm booklet) must be read carefully to learn about the characteristics of Aeson® and the information required for patient selection and proper use (contraindications, precautions, side effects) of Aeson®. In the United States, Aeson® is currently only available as part of a feasibility clinical trial approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
World coming up short on promised marine sanctuaries
A global target of having 30 percent of the oceans become protected areas by 2030 is looking more fragile than ever, with little progress and the United States backing away, conservationists say. "With less than 10 percent of the ocean designated as MPAs (marine protected areas) and only 2.7 percent fully or highly protected, it is going to be difficult to reach the 30 percent target," said Lance Morgan, head of the Marine Conservation Institute in Seattle, Washington. The institute maps the MPAs for an online atlas, updating moves to meet the 30 percent goal that 196 countries signed onto in 2022, under the Kunling-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The ambition is notably at risk because "we see countries like the US reversing course and abandoning decades of bipartisan efforts" to protect areas of the Pacific Ocean, Morgan said. That referred to an April executive order by President Donald Trump authorising industrial-scale fishing in big swathes of an MPA in that ocean. Currently, there are 16,516 declared MPAs in the world, covering just 8.4 percent of the oceans. But not all are created equal: some forbid all forms of fishing, while others place no roles, or almost none, on what activities are proscribed or permitted. "Only a third of them have levels of protection that would yield proper benefits" for fish, said Joachim Claudet, a socio-ecology marine researcher at France's CNRS. Daniel Pauly, a professor of fisheries science at Canada's University of British Columbia, said "the marine protected areas have not really been proposed for the protection of biodiversity" but "to increase fish catches". A proper MPA "exports fish to non-protected zones, and that should be the main reason that we create marine protected areas -- they are needed to have fish", he said. When fish populations are left to reproduce and grow in protected areas, there is often a spillover effect that sees fish stocks outside the zones also rise, as several scientific journals have noted, especially around a no-fishing MPA in Hawaiian waters that is the biggest in the world. One 2022 study in the Science journal showed a 54 percent in crease in yellowfin tuna around that Hawaiian MPA, an area now threatened by Trump's executive order, Pauly said. - Fishing bans - For such sanctuaries to work, there need to be fishing bans over all or at least some of their zones, Claudet said. But MPAs with such restrictions account for just 2.7 percent of the ocean's area, and are almost always in parts that are far from areas heavily impacted by human activities. In Europe, for instance, "90 percent of the marine protected areas are still exposed to bottom trawling," a spokesperson for the NGO Oceana, Alexandra Cousteau, said. "It's ecological nonsense." Pauly said that "bottom trawling in MPAs is like picking flowers with a bulldozer... they scrape the seabed". Oceana said French MPAs suffered intensive bottom trawling, 17,000 hours' worth in 2024, as did those in British waters, with 20,600 hours. The NGO is calling for a ban on the technique, which involves towing a heavy net along the sea floor, churning it up. A recent WWF report said that just two percent of European Union waters were covered by MPAs with management plans, even some with no protection measures included. The head of WWF's European office for the oceans, Jacob Armstrong, said that was insufficient to protect oceanic health. Governments need to back words with action, he said, or else these areas would be no more than symbolic markings on a map. aag/ico/cbn/rmb/dhw
