Tough Pill To Swallow: Louisiana Bill Would Classify Mifepristone Next To Cocaine
On Monday, Louisiana’s state legislature moved to criminalize the possession of mifepristone and misoprostol, the most popular oral abortion medications, without prescriptions. The move comes as the Supreme Court is set to rule on the legality of banning abortion medication in an unrelated case sometime very soon.
Why this matters:
The move by Louisiana’s Senate comes as an amendment to an already existing bill, S.B. 276, which bans the administration of abortion medication to “unsuspecting” women without their consent or knowledge. The practice of abortion is already banned in the state in almost all cases, but the amendment specifically targets possession of mifepristone and misoprostol and would add the drugs to the “Controlled Dangerous Substances” list.
The pills are routinely prescribed online after the FDA did away with restrictions requiring the medication to be picked up in person. Due in part to this increased freedom, 63% of abortions in 2023 were performed via medicinal abortion. Notably, the amendment does not criminalize the possession of mifepristone and misoprostol if a person intends to use it for their own consumption.
What they’re saying:
A group of 270 doctors in Louisiana signed a letter criticizing the move, arguing that it creates a “false perception” of the drugs being unsafe, and that the drugs are “widely prescribed and taken safely.”
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Thomas Pressly, responded to the letter saying that the bill, if passed, “would not prohibit” the drugs from being distributed for “legitimate reasons.”
What’s next:
The Louisiana House will vote on the bill sometime before the legislative session’s end on June 3rd.
Read more:
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/13/abortion-pills-controlled-substance-louisiana-amendment
