Étienne-Émile Baulieu, Inventor of the Abortion Pill and Leading Medical Researcher, Dies at 98

Professor Étienne-Émile Baulieu, a pioneer in endocrinology and the inventor of the abortion pill RU-486, passed away at the age of 98 on Friday, May 30, at his home in Paris. The news was confirmed by his wife, producer Simone Harari Baulieu.

A physician, biologist, and deeply committed researcher, Baulieu earned worldwide recognition for his groundbreaking work on steroid hormones—research that carried profound medical and societal impact. His career was fueled by the belief that science should serve human progress and empower individuals, especially women. “His research was driven by a commitment to scientific advancement, women’s freedom, and improving life for all,” his wife stated in a press release.

A Life of Early Commitment and Scientific Achievement

Born in 1926, Baulieu lost his father, a nephrologist, at the age of three and was raised by a feminist mother. At just 15, he joined the French Resistance during World War II—a formative experience that shaped his lifelong dedication to progress and human rights. Trained in medicine, he specialized in the study of sex hormones.

In 1961, he was invited to work in the United States, where he was noticed by Gregory Pincus, the creator of the birth control pill. Encouraged to pursue hormone research, Baulieu returned to France and, in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf, developed a groundbreaking molecule: RU-486. Created in 1982, this “abortion pill”—as Baulieu himself described it, a “contragestive”—offered a non-surgical alternative to abortion. Safe, affordable, and revolutionary, it reshaped reproductive rights.

However, its path to commercialization was fraught with controversy. In the United States, powerful anti-abortion groups launched fierce attacks, branding the drug a “pill of death” and vilifying its inventor.

Belated Recognition of a Courageous Scientist

In March 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded Baulieu the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, praising both his scientific legacy and moral strength. “You, a Jew and former Resistance fighter, were subjected to vile insults and compared to Nazi scientists… But you stood firm, driven by your love of freedom and science,” Macron said at the ceremony.

With the passing of Étienne-Émile Baulieu, the world loses a towering figure in medical science—one whose discoveries transformed medicine and advanced the cause of human rights.