Louisiana abortion pill reclassification bill heads to governor's desk

The Louisiana state Senate approved a bill on Thursday that would place two abortion pills on the state's list of controlled dangerous substances, sending the legislation to the governor's desk for his signature.

The state's House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday, which could make possession of the drugs a crime punishable by jail time or a fine. Surgical and medical abortions are already illegal in the southern state except in extreme cases, meaning it is already difficult to obtain the drugs legally. But now the possession itself without a prescription could get an individual up to five years in prison.

The bill would place the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol under a Schedule IV classification of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, alongside drugs like Xanax and Valium.

Critics of the bill argue that it could make people think the medication itself is dangerous, which health professionals claim is not the case, while supporters claim it would protect pregnant women from being coerced into abortions.

The bill punishes people that commit “coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud,” which targets those who slip abortion pills into an unknowing person's food or drink in order to cause, or attempt to cause, an abortion. People who commit this crime could face up to 10 years in prison, or up to 20 years if the pregnant person was three or more months into a pregnancy. 

Mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, NBC News reported. It is not considered a controlled substance by federal regulators because it carries a low risk of misuse. 

The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's desk, where he is expected to sign the legislation.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.