Dr Étienne-Émile Baulieu, French scientist behind abortion pill, dead at 98

Business Standard

2 days ago

Dr Baulieu, the French scientist who developed the abortion pill and spent decades defending women's reproductive rights, has died at 98, leaving behind a legacy of scientific courage
Manikant Mishra New Delhi
The French scientist who pioneered the abortion pill has passed away at the age of 98.
Dr Étienne-Émile Baulieu, the man behind the development of the oral drug RU-486, commonly known as mifepristone, took his last breath at his home in Paris on Friday, his wife confirmed.
The pill has given millions of women worldwide a safe, affordable alternative to surgical abortion.
He is survived by his wife, Simone Harari Baulieu. "His research was guided by his commitment to progress through science, his dedication to women's freedom, and his desire to enable everyone to live better and longer lives," she said.
President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, describing Dr Baulieu as "a beacon of courage" and "a progressive mind who enabled women to win their freedom."
In a post on X, Macron wrote, "Few French people have changed the world to such an extent."
Peu de Français ont à ce point changé le monde. Résistant, génie de la recherche, défenseur de la contraception, inventeur d'une pilule abortive, Étienne-Emile Baulieu fut un esprit de progrès qui permit aux femmes de conquérir leur liberté. Nous perdons un éclaireur de courage.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 30, 2025
France's gender equality minister, Aurore Berge, also praised him in her post on X, saying he was "guided throughout his life by one requirement: that of human dignity."
Dr Baulieu was born Étienne Blum to Jewish parents on 12 December 1926 in Strasbourg. At the age of 15, he changed his name to join the French resistance during the Nazi occupation.
After completing his studies, he went to the United States, where he worked with Dr Gregory Pincus, known as the father of the contraceptive pill. Dr Pincus encouraged Dr Baulieu to focus on sex hormones.
Returning to France, Dr Baulieu developed a way to block progesterone, a hormone vital for a fertilised egg to implant in the uterus. This breakthrough led to the creation of the abortion pill, which was completed within a decade.
Following this achievement, Dr Baulieu fought for years to get governments around the world to approve the drug, refusing to back down even in the face of harsh criticism and threats from anti-abortion groups.
When the pill was authorised for sale in 1988, it encountered strong backlash in both Europe and the US, and continues to face resistance in many parts of the world due to cultural and religious sensitivities.
Though more than 100 countries have approved mifepristone, its access remains tightly controlled in places like the US.
Some anti-abortion activists have more recently described abortion medication as "chemical abortion," claiming it is unsafe despite repeated reassurance from medical experts that the drug is safe to use.
Since the FDA approved the pill in 2000, there have been 36 deaths linked to mifepristone, which is roughly 0.65 deaths per 100,000 medication abortions. In contrast, regular aspirin use is linked to about 15.3 deaths per 100,000 users.
After a long battle, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2010 finally listed mifepristone as an essential medicine.
When Wyoming became the first US state to ban the abortion pill in 2023, Dr Baulieu remarked that he had devoted much of his life to expanding "the freedom of women," and said such bans were a step backwards.
More recently, he had been working on treatments to prevent Alzheimer's disease and severe depression.
In 2023, President Macron awarded Dr Baulieu the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour for his humanitarian achievements in his field. At the ceremony, Macron said: "You, a Jew and a member of the resistance, were heaped with the most atrocious insults and compared to Nazi scientists.