The recent passing of French biochemist Étienne-Émile Baulieu at age 98 has ignited a debate over his legacy, particularly concerning his role in developing mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill. While many in the mainstream media have hailed Baulieu as a courageous figure who significantly advanced women’s rights and health, prominent Christian apologist Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter, offered a starkly different assessment, arguing that Baulieu’s work has had a devastating impact on human life.
Baulieu, celebrated in headlines globally, was lauded by figures such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who called him “a beacon of courage” and a “progressive mind who enabled women to win their freedom.” Aurore Bergé, France’s gender equality minister, affirmed that Baulieu “was guided throughout his life by one requirement: that of human dignity,” sentiments echoed by his widow, Simone Harari Baulieu, who cited his “commitment to progress through science” and “desire to enable everyone to live better and longer lives.” These commendations often underscore mifepristone’s widespread use as a “safe and inexpensive alternative to a surgical abortion.” The World Health Organization (WHO) added mifepristone to its list of essential medications in 2010, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported a low death rate associated with its use.
However, Ken Ham contends that this portrayal overlooks the true consequences of Baulieu’s invention. In a piece published Thursday, Ham asserted that Baulieu’s legacy is “one of bloodshed and brokenness. A legacy of death.” He directly challenged claims of the abortion pill’s safety, referencing a new study—described by Ham as the largest of its kind—that found a 10.93% adverse health effect rate for women, which he contrasts with reports of less than 0.5%. “To put that into perspective, that’s 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone that suffer a severe adverse health effect!” Ham stated, emphasizing that “it’s obviously not true for the baby who ends up dead nor for the mother.”
Ham also directly refuted the notion that Baulieu was guided by “human dignity” or a desire for “everyone” to live longer lives. “He certainly didn’t apply that ‘commitment’ to life or the ‘requirement’ to be guided by human dignity to the millions of babies who were directly killed by the pill he invented and then fought to have legalized in countries around the world,” Ham wrote. He characterized Baulieu’s driving force as “a hatred of unborn life and the belief that women find freedom by killing their own children,” calling it “an evil worldview…that destroys the most vulnerable in the name of ‘freedom.'”
The development and legalization of mifepristone, particularly RU-486, faced significant global controversy from its inception. Opponents, including the Vatican, denounced it as “the pill of Cain,” and Baulieu himself faced threats and protests, including billboards labeling him “Wanted for genocide.” Despite Baulieu’s personal claims of disliking abortion and his stated aim to ease suffering, particularly after witnessing the harsh realities of unsafe abortions, the drug sparked widespread backlash and political battles throughout its journey to international approval.
For Ham, Baulieu’s historical impact is clear. “Yes, the French president was right when he said that ‘few French people have changed the world to such an extent’ as Baulieu did,” Ham conceded. “He changed the world. . . . for the worse. He made the world a much more dangerous place—a deadly place—for unborn children and their mothers.” Ham concluded his commentary with a biblical quote, referencing Isaiah 3:11: “Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.”
