Inventor of the abortion pill died at the age of 98 – Diepresse.com

The inventor of the abortion pill is dead: The French doctor and researcher Étienne-Émile Baugieu died on Friday at the age of 98 in his residence in Paris, as his wife Simone Harari Baudlieu announced to the AFP news agency. Baulieu achieved worldwide celebrity primarily for his work on steroid hormones and the invention of the abortion pill Ru-486 (Mifegyne).

Commitment to progress through science

His research work was « shaped by his commitment to the progress made possible by science, his commitment to the freedom of women and his desire to enable everyone to have a better and longer life, » said Simone Harari Baublieu. « Étienne-Emile Baulieu was led by a claim all his life: that of human dignity, » wrote the Minister of Equal Opportunities Aurore Bergé in online service X.

The Etienne Blum, born on December 12, 1926 in Strasbourg in eastern France in France as the son of Jewish parents, took on the name Émile Baudlieu at the age of only 15 when he entered the resistance movement against the National Socialists. In 1963, the doctor of medicine, a doctor of natural sciences and endocrinologists, founded the research department 33 at the Institute National de la Santé et de la research Médicale (inserm), which was completely committed to researching hormones. Baulieu headed the department until 1997 and worked there until his death.

Possibility of voluntary drug interruption

In 1982 Baulieu developed the abortion pill RU-486. This invention revolutionized the life of millions of women worldwide by offering them the possibility of a voluntary drug interruption. Baulieu was therefore regularly exposed to violent criticism and threats by opponents of abortion.

His research on the steroid hormone DHEA, whose anti -aging effect he had discovered, led him to work with neurosteroids – steroids of the nervous system. Baulieu also developed treatment for combating depression, which is currently being clinically tested in several university clinics.

Baulieu honored with the Lasker Prize of the United States

In 2008 he founded the Baulieu Institute, which is devoted to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Baulieu was honored with the Lasker Prize, the highest scientific award in the United States. He was married to Simone Harari in a second marriage and widower from Yolande Compagnon. He leaves three children, eight grandchildren and nine great -grandchildren. (APA)