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• Fri May 30 2025

French scientist behind abortion pill dies aged 98

11 hours ago Share Save Rorey Bosotti BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Dr Etienne-Emile Baulieu helped 'enable women's freedom', said France's president

The French scientist who created the abortion pill has died at the age of 98. ?tienne-?mile Baulieu helped develop the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone, which has provided millions of women across the world with a safe and inexpensive alternative to a surgical abortion. Dr Baulieu died at his home in Paris on Friday, his widow confirmed in a statement. Simone Harari Baulieu said: "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."

French President Emmanuel Macron called Dr Baulieu "a beacon of courage" and "a progressive mind who enabled women to win their freedom". "Few French people have changed the world to such an extent," he added in a post on X. Aurore Berg?, France's gender equality minister, said Dr Baulieu "was guided throughout his life by one requirement: that of human dignity" in a post on X. Dr Baulieu was born ?tienne Blum on 12 December 1926 in Strasbourg. He changed his name to join the French resistance against the Nazi occupation when he was 15. Following his graduation, he travelled to the United States where he worked with the man known as the father of the contraceptive pill, Dr Gregory Pincus. Dr Pincus advised him on focusing on sex hormones. Back in France, Dr Baulieu designed a method to block the effect of the hormone progesterone ? which is essential for the egg to implant in the uterus following fertilisation.