Abortion pill inventor Etienne-Emile Baulieu dies aged 98
The French scientist helped create mifepristone, which provided a safe and inexpensive alternative to surgical abortion for millions
French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, the inventor of the abortion pill, died at the age of 98 at his home in Paris on Friday, his wife said.
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 famous 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.
For decades, he pushed governments to authorise the drug, facing fierce criticism and sometimes threats from opponents of abortion.
When Wyoming became the first US state to outlaw the abortion pill in 2023, Baulieu said it was “scandalous”.