Étienne-Émile Baulieu is dead: Inventor of medical abortion dies

Paris. His most famous discovery was extremely controversial and influenced the lives of countless women around the world: Now the inventor of medical abortion, Étienne-Émile Baulieu, has died at the age of 98. The French news agency AFP reported this, citing the wife of the physician and researcher.

Baulieu was born in Strasbourg in 1926. As a young man, he was active in the resistance against National Socialism. Later, he turned to medicine. French President Emmanuel Macron praised Baulieu as a "spirit of progress who enabled women to gain their freedom." With him, France also lost a motivator.

Baulieu researched steroid hormones and their receptors. This led to the development of the "abortion pill," RU 486. The pill blocks the hormone progesterone, which is necessary for pregnancy and helps the fertilized egg implant in the uterus. This breaks down the lining, and with it, the embryo is expelled.

In 1989, the drug was approved in France despite criticism from politicians and the church. The drug sparked heated debate. While supporters saw it as a safe and affordable alternative to surgical abortions, critics denounced the invention as a "death pill." It would take another ten years before the drug came onto the market in Germany in 1999.

RND/dpa