Étienne-Émile Baulieu, the French scientist who developed the abortion pill RU-486, also known as mifepristone, died Friday at his home in Paris at the age of 98. Pro-life advocates worldwide mourned the millions and millions of babies the abortion drug has killed.
Baulieu, born Étienne Blum on Dec. 12, 1926, in Strasbourg, developed RU-486 in 1982, a dangerous drug that blocks progesterone, a hormone essential for pregnancy, leading to the starvation of an unborn baby and his or her eventual death. The drug, which pro-life groups note has facilitated the loss of countless unborn children, not accounts for approximately 63% of abortions in the United States in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Baulieu’s invention has been a tragedy for the unborn. Millions of babies have been denied life because of this pill, and its widespread use has desensitized society to the sanctity of human life from conception.
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Baulieu, an endocrinologist who earned doctorates in medicine in 1955 and science in 1963, founded a pioneering hormone research unit at INSERM, France’s health and medical research institute. His work on RU-486, which he described as a “non-invasive” alternative to surgical abortion, faced fierce opposition from pro-life groups, including threats and criticism labeling him a facilitator of mass killing. Despite this, Baulieu spent decades advocating for the drug’s global approval, arguing it somehow helped women despite killing millions of girl babies and killing and injuring many women who took the pill.
In 2023, when Wyoming became the first U.S. state to ban the abortion pill, Baulieu, then 96, called the decision “scandalous,” insisting he had dedicated his life to “increasing the freedom of women.” Pro-life advocates countered that such bans protect both unborn children and women from what they claim are significant health risks, citing a study reporting that 1 in 10 women experienced serious complications from mifepristone.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who awarded Baulieu the Grand Cross of the Legion d’Honneur in 2023, called him “a beacon of courage.”
Pro-life voices, however, see his death as an opportunity to reflect on the ethical questions surrounding his creation.
