Xavier Dor died on April 4, 2020, at the age of 91. He was a pillar of the French movement for the lives of unborn children, innocent and yet so threatened. Those who knew him admired his simple faith, his evangelical kindness and gentleness.

Doctor of medicine, specialized in embryology, Xavier Dor practised at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris. He was also a researcher in cardiac embryology at INSERM and a lecturer at the University of Paris VI. He was married and father of four children.

Founder of the association "SOS tout-petits" in 1986, Dr. Dor organized peaceful demonstrations for life in front of and within hospitals and clinics where abortions were performed. Activists prayed the rosary, talked with pregnant women and medical teams, and distributed miraculous medals.

His opponents often feared not so much Xavier Dor as their own consciences. Several of his demonstrations were banned, and a "crime of obstruction to abortion" was created in 1993 to punish such actions¹. He spent eleven days in prison in 1997, which he used to evangelize criminals during their walks. 

In 1998, he published a book, "The Crime against God", which has recently been republished (in French only). This book gives a complete overview of the reasons for his commitment against abortion and brings together numerous documents on his actions: letters, press articles, court decisions, and testimonies.

A few months before his death, tirelessly, Xavier Dor was still giving conferences and publicly participating in rosaries for life in Paris, Annecy, Strasbourg...

Dr. Dor came to visit us at the ECLJ in March 2019: above is an excerpt from the interview we had with him.

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¹ See ECLJ Report: "Preventing Abortion in Europe".