Louisiana is poised to become the first state to classify two abortion-inducing medications as dangerous controlled substances, penalizing possession of the medications without a valid prescription with up to ten years in prison after a proposed law received final legislative passage Thursday.
The bill, SB276, now heads to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law. Pregnant women are exempt from prosecution.
The proposed law drew national attention, notably from Vice President Kamala Harris and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who said former President Donald Trump made it possible for Louisiana to pass such restrictions. Trump has noted that his appointments created a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“A vote for Trump is a vote to bring what's happening in Louisiana nationwide,” said Landrieu.
Sen. Thomas Pressly, a Shreveport Republican
The bill’s sponsor, Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, said the legislation would protect women from abortions without their knowledge or consent. Pressly’s sister, Catherine Herring, was given an abortion-inducing drug in her drink by her husband. Her pregnancy continued, but her daughter was born 10 weeks early and requires therapy several times weekly.
Louisiana has a near-total abortion ban, and using the drugs for elective abortions is already illegal. However, thousands of Louisiana women have ordered abortion pills by mail from out-of-state sources. This law would not punish those people if they are currently pregnant. It would apply to Louisiana residents who order pills to have on hand in the event they need them in the future, or who help others obtain them.
Doctors have pushed back on the bill, saying that it will make the medications harder to give patients for urgent medical issues. Under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, the medications would be Schedule IV drugs alongside Valium and Xanax.
The two drugs, misoprostol and mifepristone, are part of a two-step regimen that induces abortion. They also have many other clinical uses, including controlling bleeding in postpartum women, managing miscarriages to prevent life-threatening infection, inserting IUDs, inducing labor and treating ulcers and a hormonal disorder called Cushing’s disease.
Scheduling drugs as a controlled substance makes them easier to track. Louisiana monitors prescribing providers, patients and pharmacies who dispense the drugs.
Nearly 300 Louisiana physicians and medical students signed a letter saying it sets a precedent that is a “threat to the safe and autonomous practice of medicine in Louisiana” that would have a “chilling effect on patients and providers.”
Initially, the bill did not contain the amendment to schedule the drugs. An amendment crafted with the anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life was added in a House Committee meeting after the Senate first passed the bill. Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, on Thursday's Senate floor, lamented how the amendment was added.
“There was never a true public vetting of this,” said Duplessis. He and other senators questioned whether making the prescribing process more onerous would delay urgent medical care, particularly in rural settings where doctors may not have the required special license to prescribe a controlled substance or the ability to store the medications as required.
Pressly said the bill requires notification of all pharmacies about the provisions of the law, which allows for dispensing the medications for legal purposes. He said what happened to his family in Texas might happen to others.
“I'm concerned that if we don't do something to address the criminal aspect and criminal use of these medications, we're going to continue to hear more and more stories about women like my sister and little girls like my niece that may not be here,” Pressly said.
State Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, and Gov. Jeff Landry
Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, said during Thursday's debate that the governor would sign the bill. She said the benefits outweigh the risks in potentially delaying care.
“We're acting like doctors are going to be scared to practice medicine,” said Cloud. “We're acting like doctors don't have teams of lawyers and hospitals don't have teams of lawyers to provide the proper guidance in addressing the outcomes of this bill.”
If Gov. Landry signs the bill, it will take effect Oct. 1.
