BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — 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 predicted to be signed into law by the governor.
Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly generally known as “abortion pills,” say it might protect expectant moms from forced abortions, although they cited just one example from the state of Texas. Numerous doctors have since said it is going to make it harder for them to prescribe the drugs, which in addition they use for other necessary reproductive health purposes.
The passage of the law comes as each pro- and anti-abortion activists await a final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on an try to restrict access to mifepristone. The justices appeared unwilling to limit 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 looking for tighter restrictions on these drugs. Louisiana currently has a near-total abortion ban that applies to each surgical and medicine abortions.
Under current Louisiana law, each drugs already require a prescription and, typically, it’s a criminal offense to make use of them to induce an abortion. The bill would make the pills harder to acquire by placing them on the list of Schedule IV drugs within 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 must be stored in specific facilities, which in some cases may very well be removed from rural clinics. Knowingly possessing the drugs with out a valid prescription can be punishable, including heavy fines and jail time. The language within the bill appears to protect pregnant women who obtain the drug with out a prescription for their very own use.
More than 200 doctors within 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 amongst each patients and doctors. The doctors warn that any delay in obtaining the drugs could lead on to worse outcomes in a state that has certainly one of the best maternal mortality rates within 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 2 drugs is included in an amendment to a Senate bill that may make “coerced criminal abortion by fraud” a criminal offense. Senate members unanimously supported the unique bill a month ago. Later, the bill's sponsor, Senator Thomas Pressly, pushed for the amendment to reclassify the drugs.
Pressly said each 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 much like Herring's have been reported within 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 within 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, corresponding to 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 secure and effective for terminating early pregnancies. It is used together with misoprostol, which the FDA has also approved for treating stomach ulcers.
The drugs are usually not classified as controlled substances by the federal government because regulators don’t see them as a major risk of abuse. The federal Controlled Substances Act restricts the use and distribution of prescribed drugs corresponding to opioids, amphetamines, sleeping pills and other drugs that carry the danger of addiction and overdose.
Anti-abortion activists and conservative Republicans inside and outdoors the state have welcomed the bill in Louisiana. On the opposite hand, the move was sharply criticized by Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who called it “absolutely unconscionable” in a social media post.
Landry's office didn’t reply to an emailed request for comment.
A recent survey found that hundreds of ladies in states with abortion bans or restrictions receive abortion pills within the mail from states which have laws protecting prescribing doctors. The survey didn’t say how lots of these cases occurred in Louisiana.
Louisiana has a near-total ban on abortion, which applies to each medical and surgical abortions. Exceptions to this ban apply only when continuing the pregnancy poses a major risk of death or impairment to the mother, or within the case of “medically futile” pregnancies when the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
Currently, 14 states, with few exceptions, prohibit abortion in any respect stages of pregnancy.
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