BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) — Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final approval Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor.
Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly known as “abortion pills,” say it would protect expectant mothers from forced abortions, although they cited only one example from the state of Texas. Numerous doctors have since said it will make it harder for them to prescribe the drugs, which they also operate for other critical reproductive health purposes.
The passage of the law comes as both pro- and anti-abortion activists await a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on an attempt to restrict access to mifepristone. The justices appeared unwilling to restrict access to the drug on the day they heard arguments.
The Republican-dominated legislature’s push to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol could potentially open the door to other Republican states with abortion bans seeking tighter restrictions on these drugs. Louisiana currently has a near-total abortion ban that applies to both surgical and medication abortions.
Under current Louisiana law, both drugs already require a prescription and, in most cases, it is a crime to operate them to induce an abortion. The bill would make the pills harder to obtain by placing them on the list of Schedule IV drugs in the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.
The classification would require doctors to have a special license to prescribe the drugs, and the drugs would have to be stored in specific facilities, which in some cases could be far from rural clinics. Knowingly possessing the drugs without a valid prescription would be punishable, including ponderous fines and jail time. The language in the bill appears to offer protection to pregnant women who obtain the drug without a prescription for their own operate.
More than 200 doctors in the state signed a letter to lawmakers warning that the measure could “make it harder for doctors to prescribe appropriate treatments” and cause unnecessary fear and confusion among both patients and doctors. The doctors warn that any delay in obtaining the drugs could lead to worsening outcomes in a state that has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.
“This goes too far. We haven’t properly consulted with the health community on this, and I believe it will cause further harm in the future,” said Democratic Senator Royce Duplessis, who voted against the measure. “There’s a reason we rank at the bottom in maternal health, and it’s for this reason.”
The reclassification of the two drugs is included in an amendment to a Senate bill that would make “coerced criminal abortion by fraud” a crime. Senate members unanimously supported the original bill a month ago. Later, the bill’s sponsor, Senator Thomas Pressly, pushed for the amendment to reclassify the drugs.
Pressly said both the bill and the amendment were motivated by the fate of his sister, Catherine Herring of Texas. In 2022, her husband planted seven misoprostol pills on her to induce an abortion without her knowledge or consent.
Over the past 15 years, several cases similar to Herring’s have been reported in the news, but none of them occurred in Louisiana.
“The purpose of this legislation is certainly not to prevent the use of these drugs for legitimate health purposes,” Pressly said. “I’m simply trying to put safeguards and protections in place to prevent fraudsters from getting their hands on these drugs.”
The Senate voted 29-7, mostly along party lines, to pass the bill. There are only five women in the 39-member Senate, all of whom voted for the bill.
In addition to causing an abortion, mifepristone and misoprostol are also used for other purposes, such as treating miscarriages, inducing labor, and stopping bleeding.
Mifepristone was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 after federal regulators declared it protected and effective for terminating early pregnancies. It is used in combination with misoprostol, which the FDA has also approved for treating stomach ulcers.
The drugs are not classified as controlled substances by the federal government because regulators do not see them as a significant risk of abuse. The federal Controlled Substances Act restricts the operate and distribution of prescription drugs such as opioids, amphetamines, sleeping pills and other drugs that carry the risk of addiction and overdose.
Anti-abortion activists and conservative Republicans inside and outside the state have welcomed the bill in Louisiana. On the other hand, the move was sharply criticized by Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who called it “absolutely unconscionable” in a social media post.
Louisiana’s bill now lands on the desk of conservative Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The governor, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in last year’s gubernatorial election, has signaled his support for the measure, noting in a recent post on X: “You know you’re doing something right when @KamalaHarris criticizes you.”
Landry’s office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
A recent survey found that thousands of women in states with abortion bans or restrictions receive abortion pills in the mail from states that have laws protecting prescribing doctors. The survey did not say how many of these cases occurred in Louisiana.
Louisiana has a near-total ban on abortion, which applies to both medical and surgical abortions. Exceptions to this ban apply only when continuing the pregnancy poses a significant risk of death or impairment to the mother, or in the case of “medically futile” pregnancies when the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
Currently, 14 states, with few exceptions, prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy.
