Claude Évin (born 29 June 1949) is a French politician and lawyer.

Claude Évin
Claude Évin in 2009
Member of the National Assembly
for Loire-Atlantique's 8th constituency
In office
1 June 1997 – 17 June 2007
Preceded byÉtienne Garnier
Succeeded byMarie-Odile Bouillé
Minister of Social Affairs and Solidarity
In office
13 May 1988 – 15 May 1991
PresidentFrançois Mitterrand
Prime MinisterMichel Rocard
Preceded byMichèle Barzach
Succeeded byJean-Louis Bianco
Personal details
Born (1949-06-29) 29 June 1949 (age 75)
Le Cellier, France
Political partySocialist Party
ProfessionLawyer

He was first elected in 1978.[1] Prior to becoming a member of parliament, Claude Évin was the deputy mayor of Saint-Nazaire, a post he held until 1989. In his lengthy career, he held a variety of positions including Vice President of the National Assembly (1986–87); Minister for Health (1988–91) and Minister for Social Affairs (1988–91).[1] As Minister for Health, he proposed the French alcohol and tobacco policy law, now known as Loi Évin, to the parliament (Law 91-32 of 10 January 1991).

Since being replaced as an MP for Loire-Atlantique by Marie-Odile Bouillé, he has moved to chairing the French Hospital Federation (FHF).

Évin is also notable for mandating the drug company Roussel Uclaf to resume the distribution of mifepristone, an abortifactant, two days after the company's board voted 16–4 to discontinue its distribution due to concerns of the image of the company's majority-owner. This was regarding a negative public image related to the popular anti-abortion sentiments of France in the late 1980s. He stated "I could not permit the abortion debate to deprive women of a product that represents medical progress. From the moment government approval for the drug was granted, RU-486 became the moral property of women, not just the property of a drug company."[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés : M. Claude Évin". National Assembly.
  2. ^ Étienne-Émile Baulieu; Mort Rosenblum (1991). The "abortion pill" : RU-486, a woman's choice. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-73816-X.
    Lader, Lawrence (1991). RU 486 : the pill that could end the abortion wars and why American women don't have it. Reading: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-57069-6.
    Villaran, Gilda (1998). "RU 486". In Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. (ed.). Marketing ethics : an international perspective. London: Thomson Learning. pp. 155–190. ISBN 1-86152-191-X.
    Ulmann, André (2000). "The development of mifepristone: a pharmaceutical drama in three acts". J Am Med Womens Assoc. 55 (3 Suppl): 117–20. PMID 10846319.