Etienne-Emile Baulieu, inventor of the abortion capsule, dies at 98
French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, finest generally known as the inventor of the abortion capsule, died on Friday aged 98 at his dwelling in Paris, his institute mentioned in a press release.Each a health care provider and a researcher, Baulieu was recognized all over the world for the scientific, medical and social significance of his work on steroid hormones.Video above: Abortion capsule invoice advances“His analysis was guided by his attachment to the progress made attainable by science, his dedication to ladies’s freedom, and his want to allow everybody to reside higher, longer lives,” the Institut Baulieu mentioned within the assertion posted on its web site.Born Etienne Blum in Strasbourg on Dec. 12, 1926, he took the title “Émile Baulieu” when he joined the French Resistance in opposition to the Nazi occupation on the age of 15.An endocrinologist with a doctorate in medication accomplished in 1955 and one in science eight years later, in 1963 Baulieu based a pioneering analysis unit engaged on hormones at INSERM, the French institute for well being and medical analysis. He remained as head of the unit till 1997.He’s finest recognized for his improvement, in 1982, of RU 486, the so-called “abortion capsule” that modified the lives of tens of millions of ladies all through the world, providing them the opportunity of voluntary medical termination of being pregnant, in bodily and psychological security.The Institut Baulieu mentioned it was “a non-invasive methodology, much less aggressive and fewer delayed than surgical procedure,” noting that following his discovery, the researcher confronted fierce criticism and even threats from opponents of ladies’s abortion rights.“Even right this moment, entry to this methodology is opposed, banned in some international locations, and is at the moment being challenged in the USA, the place it’s the most generally used abortion methodology,” the institute added.Baulieu’s analysis into DHEA, a hormone whose secretion and anti-aging exercise he had found, led him to work on neurosteroids — or steroids of the nervous system. He additionally developed an authentic remedy to fight melancholy, for which a medical trial is at the moment underway in a number of college hospitals.In 2008, he based the Institut Baulieu to know, forestall and deal with neurodegenerative ailments similar to Alzheimer’s.Honored with the grand crosses of the Légion d’honneur (legion of honor) and the Ordre nationwide du Mérite (nationwide order of advantage), he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1982, which he chaired in 2003 and 2004.He was a member of the nationwide advisory committee on life sciences and well being (1996-2002) and obtained quite a few awards, each in France and overseas.French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Baulieu in a submit on X, calling him “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.After the demise of his first spouse, Yolande Compagnon, he remarried, to Simone Harari Baulieu. He’s survived by three youngsters, eight grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, his institute mentioned.
French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, finest generally known as the inventor of the abortion capsule, died on Friday aged 98 at his dwelling in Paris, his institute mentioned in a press release.
Each a health care provider and a researcher, Baulieu was recognized all over the world for the scientific, medical and social significance of his work on steroid hormones.
Video above: Abortion capsule invoice advances
“His analysis was guided by his attachment to the progress made attainable by science, his dedication to ladies’s freedom, and his want to allow everybody to reside higher, longer lives,” the Institut Baulieu mentioned within the assertion posted on its web site.
Born Etienne Blum in Strasbourg on Dec. 12, 1926, he took the title “Émile Baulieu” when he joined the French Resistance in opposition to the Nazi occupation on the age of 15.
An endocrinologist with a doctorate in medication accomplished in 1955 and one in science eight years later, in 1963 Baulieu based a pioneering analysis unit engaged on hormones at INSERM, the French institute for well being and medical analysis. He remained as head of the unit till 1997.
He’s finest recognized for his improvement, in 1982, of RU 486, the so-called “abortion capsule” that modified the lives of tens of millions of ladies all through the world, providing them the opportunity of voluntary medical termination of being pregnant, in bodily and psychological security.
The Institut Baulieu mentioned it was “a non-invasive methodology, much less aggressive and fewer delayed than surgical procedure,” noting that following his discovery, the researcher confronted fierce criticism and even threats from opponents of ladies’s abortion rights.
“Even right this moment, entry to this methodology is opposed, banned in some international locations, and is at the moment being challenged in the USA, the place it’s the most generally used abortion methodology,” the institute added.
Baulieu’s analysis into DHEA, a hormone whose secretion and anti-aging exercise he had found, led him to work on neurosteroids — or steroids of the nervous system. He additionally developed an authentic remedy to fight melancholy, for which a medical trial is at the moment underway in a number of college hospitals.
In 2008, he based the Institut Baulieu to know, forestall and deal with neurodegenerative ailments similar to Alzheimer’s.
Honored with the grand crosses of the Légion d’honneur (legion of honor) and the Ordre nationwide du Mérite (nationwide order of advantage), he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1982, which he chaired in 2003 and 2004.
He was a member of the nationwide advisory committee on life sciences and well being (1996-2002) and obtained quite a few awards, each in France and overseas.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Baulieu in a submit on X, calling him “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.
After the demise of his first spouse, Yolande Compagnon, he remarried, to Simone Harari Baulieu. He’s survived by three youngsters, eight grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, his institute mentioned.
