Louisiana Could Become First State to Classify Abortion-Inducing Drugs as Controlled Substances

Louisiana legislators are considering categorizing mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances, restricting access to these drugs for reasons unrelated to abortion and potentially impacting medical care such as treatment after a miscarriage or postpartum hemorrhage.

If the legislation passes, Louisiana would be the first US state to classify these abortion-inducing drugs as “controlled dangerous substances, threatening incarceration and fines if an individual possesses the pills without a valid prescription or outside of professional practice” according to The Washington Post. 

Abortion through medication or surgery is already banned in Louisiana with exceptions for unviable pregnancies and saving the patient’s life, but exceptions proposed for minors pregnant through rape or incest were recently rejected. 

Making mifepristone and misoprostol-controlled substances is a last-minute amendment written with guidance from Louisiana Right to Life added to Senate bill 276 that had already unanimously passed in mid-April that would criminalize coerced criminal abortions.  

More than 240 Louisiana doctors strongly objected to the bill because the change would not be based on scientific reasoning and that beyond abortion, there are critical uses of misoprostol in preventing gastrointestinal ulcers and aiding in labor and delivery. 

The bill will not be approved until a final vote in the House before the session ends on June 3, but there is minimal anticipated opposition.

Reference 
Wax-Thibodeaux E. Louisiana moves to make abortion pills ‘controlled dangerous substances’. The Washington Post. May 13, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/13/abortion-pills-louisiana-controlled-substance/