Louisiana moves to place abortion pills on state's controlled dangerous substance list

Louisiana state lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would place abortion pills like mifepristone on the state's list of controlled dangerous substances, 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, according to NBC News. The bill passed the House on Tuesday, but still needs to go to the state Senate and then to the governor's desk.

The bill puts the abortion medication mifepristone and misoprostol under a Schedule IV classification of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. Other Schedule IV drugs include Xanax, and Valium, along with sleep aids and stimulants for ADHD. 

The bill also punishes those who 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. 

Republican state Sen. Thomas Pressly said the matter of coerced criminal abortion is important to him because the estranged husband of his sister was accused of slipping abortion drugs into her drinks when she was pregnant with the couple's third child. He has since pleaded guilty to the charges in February, and was sentenced to 180 days in prison, per NBC.

Healthcare providers and medical providers however are warning that the new legislation would make people think that the drugs themselves are dangerous.

“They are safe and effective and they are not dangerous drugs of abuse to be on a schedule of a controlled dangerous substance list,” Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the director of the New Orleans Health Department, told the outlet. “From a medical standpoint, healthcare providers think this is bad science, and not well informed ... This is not about abortion. This is about using these drugs, routinely for many, many other things. Mainly, number one to facilitate safe childbirth, number two miscarriage management."

Abortion in Louisiana is only legal if the baby is not expected to survive pregnancy, or to save the life of the mother.