The man who invented abortion pill, French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, has died at the age of 98 in Paris.
The doctor who died on Friday in his Paris home had done a great deal during his time in the land of the living. According to report , Baulieu had in the French resistance.
Baulieu lived as a great researcher and his discovery was what led to the invention of the oral abortion drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone. The discovery brought him a lot of challenges as he wouldn’t stop pushing for the government to approve it while his competitors continued threatening him.
In a statement by the researcher’s wife, she noted that the legend invented abortion pill following his dedication to women’s safety.
She said; “His research was guided by his commitment to the progress made possible by science, his dedication to women’s freedom, and his desire to enable everyone to live better, longer lives.”
Baulieu remarried Simone Harari in 2016 after his wife Yolande Compagnon died having three children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
In a post on X formerly Twitter, the French President, Emmanuel Macron described the deceased as a beacon of courage and a progressive mind who enabled women to win their freedom noting that there are no much people in the world who have changed the world to the extent he did.
Baulieu was born on December 12, 1926 in Strasbourg to Jewish parents, Etienne Blum was raised by his feminist mother after his father who was a doctor, died.
However, Bauliey changed his name to Emile Baulieu at 15 after he joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation and later added Etienne to it.
When the war ended, Baulieu specialized in the field of Steroid Hormones as he started describing himself as a doctor who does science.
When the researcher developed the mifepristone in 1982, it followed his discovery of an easy way of blocking the effect of the hormone progesterone essential for the egg to implant in the uterus after fertilisation.
However, his development was great criticized as many called it a death pill instead of an abortion pill.
According to his wife, he held on for the love of freedom and science as he continued researching to find a way to prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as a treatment for severe depression.
The clinical trials for the drugs are currently underway across the world.
Additionally, the researcher and doctor won many prizes during his time alive including the prestigious Lasker prize in 1989 awarded him by the US.
He was also the first to describe how the hormone DHEA secreted from adrenal glands in 1963 this followed his convinction of the hormone’s anti-ageing abilities.
