A bill to criminalize possession of the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol without a valid prescription cleared the Louisiana Senate on May 23, paving the way for the state’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to sign it into law.
The bill, which creates the crime of “coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud,” would add the two drugs to the list of Schedule IV drugs under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law.
Abortion is already almost completely outlawed in Louisiana except for cases involving a substantial threat to the mother’s life or a fatal fetal anomaly. But supporters of the new legislation say current law does not do enough to prevent potential abusers from obtaining abortion pills or penalize them when they use the medication to inflict harm….
