A bill to criminalize possession of the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol without a valid prescription cleared the Louisiana Senate on May 23, paving the way for Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, to sign it into law.
The bill, which creates the crime of “coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud,” would add the two drugs to the list of Schedule IV drugs under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law.
Abortion is already almost completely outlawed in Louisiana except for cases involving a substantial threat to the mother’s life or a fatal fetal anomaly. But supporters of the new legislation say the current law does not do enough to prevent potential abusers from obtaining abortion pills or penalize them when they use the medication to inflict harm.
“What this bill is going to do is it’s going to make sure that our laws can hold accountable those individuals who are using deception to harm women and unborn children,” Republican state Rep. Julie Emerson said hours before the bill passed the House on May 21.
The bill was a product of personal experience for state Sen. Thomas Pressly, whose sister, Catherine Herring, was unknowingly slipped ground-up abortion pills seven times by her then-husband in an attempt to kill her unborn child. The baby survived thanks to the abortion pill reversal process, but the abortion attempts resulted in her premature delivery and had a lasting effect on her health.
The child’s father was sentenced to just 180 days in county jail.
However, the bill’s detractors have voiced concerns over its potential ramifications. One unintended consequence that they have cited is the potential for delays in treatment for women suffering complications from miscarriage, for which misoprostol is sometimes prescribed.
Louisiana has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The bill’s provisions would require doctors to have a specific license to prescribe the drugs. The pills would also need to be stored in special facilities that could be located far from rural clinics. Penalties for violating the new law could result in fines and jail time.
More than 200 Louisiana doctors signed a letter expressing their opposition to the bill, warning that it could create a “barrier to physicians’ ease of prescribing appropriate treatment.”
The Biden administration has also criticized the bill, with Vice President Kamala Harris calling the move to criminalize unauthorized possession of the abortion drugs “unconscionable.”
Mr. Landry, who is expected to sign the bill, responded to her commentary in a social media post.
“You know you’re doing something right when [Kamala Harris] criticizes you,” he wrote. “This bill protects expectant mothers while also allowing these drugs to be prescribed to those with a valid prescription. Maybe Vice President Harris should spend more time fixing our southern border than misleading the American people on Senator [Pressly’s] bill.”
The bill’s passage comes ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s anticipated ruling in a case involving mifepristone.
A coalition of doctors has challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s loosening of restrictions surrounding the prescription and distribution of the pill. But during oral arguments in March, the court did not appear ready to limit access to the drug.
A ruling is expected by the end of June.
