Overview

• His wife, Simone Harari Baulieu, told AFP that he died at his Paris residence on May 30.
• In 1982, he synthesized RU-486, securing French approval in 1989 and broadening access to medical abortion worldwide.
• His work on RU-486 drew fierce criticism and personal threats from opponents of abortion.
• He led Inserm’s hormone research unit from 1963 to 1997 and later founded Institut Baulieu in 2008 to study treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
• He received the US Lasker Award for his contributions to endocrinology and was praised by Equality Minister Aurore Bergé for his commitment to human dignity.