7 reactions to the death of 'father of the abortion pill': 'Legacy of death and deception'

Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron reacted to the news of Baulieu’s death in a Friday X post, stating, “We have lost a courageous scout.”

“Few French people have changed the world to such an extent. Resistance fighter, research genius, defender of contraception, inventor of an abortion pill, Étienne-Emile Baulieu was a progressive spirit who enabled women to achieve their freedom,” Macron wrote. 

Agence France-Press in Paris reported that the French president presented the father of the abortion pill the Grand-Croix de la Legion d’Honneur in 2023, the country’s highest national medal of honor. 

“You, a Jew and a resistance fighter, you were overwhelmed with the most atrocious insults and even compared to Nazi scientists,” Macron said at the time. “But you held on for the love of freedom and science.”