Louisiana passed a new bill that would reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV drugs.
The abortion pill legislation passed by Louisiana lawmakers on Thursday could have sent the bill sponsor’s brother-in-law to jail for 10 years.
On Thursday, Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill that, if signed into law, would reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol, pills that are used to terminate a pregnancy through medication, as controlled substances. This means it would become a crime in Louisiana to obtain the pills without a prescription.
The bill would reclassify them as Schedule IV drugs, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The bill’s passage drew swift condemnation from reproductive rights advocates who view the legislation as the latest attack against abortion rights in the years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that for decades guaranteed reproductive rights across the country.
It is already illegal to use them to induce an abortion in most cases in Louisiana, as the state is among the conservative-leaning states that banned abortion in the wake of the High Court’s overturning of Roe, according to AP.
The bill passed 29-7 and now goes to the desk of Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican who opposes abortion rights.
