Louisiana passes bill reclassifying two drugs used for inducing abortion as controlled substances

Hanna Seariac
·2 min read
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Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone, left, and misoprostol, right, at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 22, 2010. Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs use — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024. As states have imposed bans or restrictions or seek to limit abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol have grown.

The Louisiana Legislature has passed a bill reclassifying two drugs used for inducing an abortion as controlled and dangerous substances.

Mifepristone and misoprostol are the names of the drugs in question. The bill — if signed by the governor — will make it so a person in possession of either of those drugs without a prescription could face jail time. It also criminalizes giving abortion pills to a pregnant woman without her knowledge or consent.

Before it was the passed Thursday, the bill was amended to add the drugs to the Louisiana’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. Abortion in Louisiana is currently illegal with exceptions for life of the mother or if a pregnancy is considered “medically futile.”

“We are proud of Sen. (Thomas) Pressly’s outstanding defense of SB 276, which will protect women like his sister for decades to come. We also want to thank Sen. Heather Cloud as well as Sen. Jay Morris for sharing their support for SB 276,” said Sarah Zagorski, the communications director for Louisiana Right to Life in a statement. “The intention of SB 276 is to stop the abortion industry from profiting off of abuse and trafficking of vulnerable women through their flagrantly illegal distribution of pills.”

“Anti-abortion activists are willing to try and do anything and everything they can think of to block abortion access and this bill proves it. These are safe and effective medications that don’t belong on the controlled substance list,” said Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju in a statement.