Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced on Friday that he has signed a landmark bill into law, classifying abortion pills as controlled substances. This new legislation categorizes the abortion pill regimen—mifepristone and misoprostol—alongside opioids and other addictive medications.
The law, set to take effect on Oct. 1, criminalizes the possession of these drugs without a prescription, aligning with Louisiana's stringent abortion regulations. Governor Landry stated, "Requiring an abortion-inducing drug to be obtained with a prescription and criminalizing the use of an abortion drug on an unsuspecting mother is nothing short of common sense. This bill protects women across Louisiana, and I was proud to sign this bill into law today," as reported by ABC News.
Under the new law, anyone possessing mifepristone and misoprostol without a valid prescription could face up to five years in prison, with exceptions for pregnant women using the pills for their own consumption. The legislation also introduces the crime of "coerced criminal abortion," targeting individuals who attempt to induce an abortion on a pregnant woman without her knowledge or consent. This crime is punishable by five to ten years in prison and fines ranging from $10,000 to $75,000. The penalties increase to ten to twenty years in prison and fines between $50,000 and $100,000 if the woman is more than three months pregnant.
The bill, authored by state Senator Thomas Pressly, was inspired by a personal incident where his sister's husband attempted to induce an abortion without her consent. The state Senate, with a Republican majority, passed the bill with a 29-7 vote on Thursday, following its approval in the state House earlier in the week, as per The Washington Post.
This development comes amid a broader national debate over abortion access. A federal case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court seeks to revoke the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, which could potentially restrict access to the pill nationwide. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this case by the end of June.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion access, 63% of abortions in 2023 were medication abortions, with the regimen federally approved for terminating pregnancies up to 11 weeks.
