Activist 'disappointed' by Louisiana bill reclassifying abortion pills as controlled substances

Record ID: 1813327

  • Title: Activist 'disappointed' by Louisiana bill reclassifying abortion pills as controlled substances
  • Date: 23rd May 2024
  • Summary: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES (MAY 23, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TYLER BARBARIN, GRANTS AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT LOUISIANA ABORTION FUND, SAYING: "Unfortunately, I am a firm believer in the 'As it goes the South, so goes the nation.' So I do think that this is symbolically a step in the direction that I think our country is going to start moving. I t
  • Embargoed: 6th June 2024 22:28
  • Keywords: ABORTION RIGHTS LOUISIANA MIFEPRISTONE MISOPROSTOL
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Fundamental Rights/Civil Liberties,North America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA004520923052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The Louisiana Senate gave final legislative approval on Thursday (May 23) to a bill that would make the state the first in the U.S. to reclassify two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances that carry the potential for abuse or addiction.
    The bill would make unprescribed possession of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol a crime punishable by one to five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000, though pregnant women are expressly exempt from prosecution.
    The drug classification provisions were added as an amendment to a larger bill outlawing "coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud," making it a crime for abortion-inducing medication to be administered to an unsuspecting pregnant woman without her consent.
    Louisiana already has one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, prohibiting the voluntary termination of a pregnancy through surgical means or medication except when necessary to protect the life of the mother.
    The bill cleared the Louisiana House of Representatives on Tuesday by a 64-29 vote, and won final passage on Thursday in the Senate, 29-7. Republicans control both chambers.
    The measure now goes to Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.
    The legislation would redefine the two abortion pills under Louisiana law as Schedule IV drugs, a category of medications considered to carry a potential for abuse and dependency, such as Xanax, Valium or Ambien. If enacted, the bill would make Louisiana the first state in the U.S. to classify abortion medications as controlled substances.
    Mifepristone and misoprostol, taken together as a two-drug regimen that allows women to terminate a pregnancy at home, account for more than half of all U.S. abortions.
    The drugs are also prescribed for medical purposes other than abortion, including during miscarriages. Misoprostol is also used alone to treat ulcers and to induce labor during childbirth.
    (Production: Liliana Salgado)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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