The French scientist who created the abortion capsule has died on the age of 98.
Étienne-Émile Baulieu helped develop the oral drug RU-486, often known as mifepristone, which has offered tens of millions of girls the world over with a secure and cheap various to a surgical abortion.
Dr Baulieu died at his dwelling in Paris on Friday, his widow confirmed in an announcement.
Simone Harari Baulieu mentioned: “His analysis was guided by his dedication to progress by way of science, his dedication to ladies’s freedom and his want to allow everybody to reside higher and longer lives.”
French President Emmanuel Macron known as Dr Baulieu “a beacon of braveness” and “a progressive thoughts who enabled ladies to win their freedom”.
“Few French individuals have modified the world to such an extent,” he added in a publish on X.
Aurore Bergé, France’s gender equality minister, mentioned Dr Baulieu “was guided all through his life by one requirement: that of human dignity” in a publish on X.
Dr Baulieu was born Étienne Blum on 12 December 1926 in Strasbourg. He modified his identify to affix the French resistance in opposition to the Nazi occupation when he was 15.
Following his commencement, he travelled to the USA the place he labored with the person generally known as the daddy of the contraceptive capsule, Dr Gregory Pincus. Dr Pincus suggested him on specializing in intercourse hormones.
Again in France, Dr Baulieu designed a technique to dam the impact of the hormone progesterone – which is crucial for the egg to implant within the uterus following fertilisation.
Whereas the abortion capsule was developed inside 10 years, Dr Baulieu spent a long time pushing worldwide governments to authorise the drug regardless of going through fierce criticism and typically threats from opponents of abortion.
The approval on the market of the capsule in 1988 sparked backlash, each in Europe and the USA, the place to this present day it stays some extent of competition between pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners.
Whereas use of the drug has been authorised in over 100 nations globally, entry to mifepristone continues to be closely regulated or restricted within the US and a number of other different nations.
Lately, some anti-abortion campaigners have additionally promoted claims that abortion remedy – solid as “chemical abortion” – ineffective and harmful, regardless of medical authorities constantly saying it’s secure to be used.
Since its approval in 2000, the US Meals and Drug Administration has reported a complete of 26 deaths related to mifepristone – a price of about 0.65 deaths per 100,000 remedy abortions.
For comparability, the loss of life price related to recurring aspirin use is about 15.3 deaths per 100,000 aspirin customers.
The World Well being Organisation (WHO) added mifepristone to its listing of important remedy in 2010.
Upon Wyoming changing into the primary US state to ban the abortion capsule in 2023, Dr Baulieu famous he had spent a big a part of his life making an attempt to extend “the liberty of girls”, including such bans had been a step within the unsuitable path.
His latest analysis included looking for a option to forestall the event of Alzheimer’s illness, in addition to a therapy for extreme despair.
French President Macron offered Dr Baulieu with the Grand Cross of the Legion d’Honneur in 2023 saying: “You, a Jew and a member of the resistance, had been heaped with essentially the most atrocious insults and in comparison with Nazi scientists.
“However you held agency, out of affection for freedom and science.”
