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Lawmakers of the State of Louisiana passed a legislation to reclassify two abortion drugs as controlled substances. While they will still be able to be prescribed by doctors to patients, non-patients who are found in possession of mifepristone or misoprostol without a prescription could face steep fines and jail sentences.
The bill passed in the State Senate on Thursday, on a vote of 29-7, with all Republican senators voting in favor. The bill would classify both drugs as Schedule IV drugs in an attempt to prevent them from being obtained outside of a clinical environment. The Tablet notes that lawmakers added this rescheduling to a previous bill that made it illegal to administer abortion drugs to someone without their consent.
Republican State Sen. Thomas Pressly explained that he sponsored the bill because his sister was given abortion pills without her consent several years ago. The Tablet reports that he said the amendment seeks to “control the rampant illegal distribution of abortion-inducing drugs” in the state, adding that abortion medication “is frequently abused and is a risk to the health of citizens.”
Now past the senate, the bill is headed for the desk of Gov. Jeff Landry, who is largely expected to sign it into law. If enacted, the law would make unprescribed distribution of or possession without a prescription for either drug a felony, punishable by up to $5,000 and five years in prison.
Aleteia previously reported on the stance of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the abortion pills. First, mifepristone is taken to block progesterone, a hormone essential to maintaining pregnancy, which cuts off the child’s oxygen supply and triggers a breakdown of the uterine lining. Misoprostol is then taken one to two days later to “induce uterine contractions strong enough to expel the dead child and placenta.”
The bishops strongly object to the use of the abortion pills, and all abortive measures, following the teaching of the Catholic Church. The bishops have also taken exception to the erroneous term “medication abortion,” noting that “medication” is only used to treat an illness and pregnancy is not an illness.
Before the vote, on the day of oral arguments, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, commented:
“With dangerous abortion drugs now making up the majority of abortions and increasing in use, we pray that the Supreme Court will restore the Food and Drug Administration’s safeguards for the health of women and protect more preborn children.”
