UPDATE: On Friday Governor Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 276 into law.
A bill that would classify two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled and dangerous substances is headed to the governor’s desk after receiving final legislative passage today in the Louisiana Senate. New Orleans Democratic Senator Royce Duplessis voted against the measure because mifepristone and misoprostol are also used for other reproductive health care needs.
“There is a reason why we rank at the bottom in the terms of health care, there’s a reason we rank at the bottom in the terms of maternal outcomes in this and this is why,” Duplessis said.
But the bill’s author, Shreveport Senator Thomas Pressly argued the drugs will still be available and a person can possess them, if they obtain them with a valid prescription.
Duplessis says more than 200 doctors have signed a letter warning lawmakers that listing these abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances will create delays in getting the drugs to women who need them to treat miscarriages or stop after-birth hemorrhaging.
“I believe this amendment will ultimately lead to hurting health care for women and I base my decision on the communications and the concerns I received from health care providers throughout this state and the country,” Duplessis said.
Louisiana will be the first state to classify misoprostol and mifepristone as a controlled dangerous substance. Pressly says they should be added as controlled substances because they are being abused and are a risk to public health.
“What we are trying to do there is add here an additional opportunity to keep bad actors from getting these medications, so doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, will continue to be able to prescribe these drugs and they will continue to be dispensed,” Pressly said.
Pressly’s bill creates the crime of coerced abortion. It’s in response to her sister nearly losing her child after her then-husband slipped abortion pills into her drink. He received 180 days in jail.
Pressly’s bill calls for much stronger punishment, up to ten years in prison. Pregnant women would be exempt from prosecution.
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