Renowned French scientist and women’s rights advocate, Dr Étienne-Émile Baulieu, has died at the age of 98 at his home in Paris. Dr Baulieu was best known for helping to develop the abortion pill RU-486, also known as mifepristone, a medical breakthrough that has offered millions of women around the world a safe, non-surgical option for abortion.
His death was confirmed in a statement by his widow, Simone Harari Baulieu, who praised his lifelong dedication to science and women’s freedom. “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.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Dr Baulieu as “a beacon of courage” and “a progressive mind who enabled women to win their freedom.” In 2023, Macron awarded him the Grand Cross of the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian honour.
Dr Baulieu was born Étienne Blum in Strasbourg on 12 December 1926. At the age of 15, he joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation and changed his surname to Baulieu to hide his Jewish identity. After studying medicine, he travelled to the United States and worked with Dr Gregory Pincus, the scientist known as the father of the contraceptive pill. There, he developed an interest in sex hormones, which later shaped his groundbreaking research.
In the 1980s, Baulieu developed a method to block progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy to continue. This led to the creation of **mifepristone**, which blocks pregnancy in its early stages. The drug was approved in France in 1988, despite strong opposition and controversy in both Europe and the United States.
To date, mifepristone has been approved in over 100 countries and is listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an essential medicine. However, access to the pill remains a contentious issue. In 2023, Wyoming became the first U.S. state to ban the drug. In response, Dr Baulieu said he had spent much of his life fighting for women’s freedom and saw such bans as dangerous setbacks.
Despite criticism and even threats from anti-abortion activists, Baulieu remained committed to science and social progress. He spent his later years researching treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and severe depression.
Aurore Bergé, France’s minister for gender equality, paid tribute to him, saying he lived his life guided by a deep sense of human dignity.
Dr Baulieu’s legacy lives on in the millions of women whose lives have been changed by his work. His contributions to medicine and human rights will continue to shape the future of reproductive health for generations to come.
