Louisiana Reclassifies Abortion Pills as Controlled Dangerous Substances

Anyone caught with the abortion pill without a prescription in Louisiana can now face five years in prison

Written for MeidasTouch by Troy Matthews

In another blow to reproductive healthcare freedom in Republican states, Louisiana has reclassified the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as schedule IV controlled substances, which come with prison terms of up to five years for those caught in possession without a prescription. 

Schedule IV is the classification typically given to highly addictive prescription drugs like Xanax or Ambien. Doctors warn that removing ready access to these drugs in hospitals and clinics can have dire health consequences for many women, as they are frequently used in potential emergency situations like miscarriage treatment.

Misoprostol, which is commonly used to treat hemorrhaging, must now be kept out of patient's rooms and locked away in secure areas due to the new classification. This can cause dangerous delays in getting treatment to someone who is actively bleeding out.

"These medications are being placed on this list due to a perceived moral implication," said Dr. Greg Caudill, former president of the Louisiana Society of Addiction Medicine, acknowledging there is no need to classify abortion pills as addictive substances. Caudill said delays in dispensing these medications "could result in death in certain situations."

Tamika Thomas-Magee, director of clinical services at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, says she believes the law is being used as a "scare tactic" to deter doctors and pharmacists from prescribing and dispensing the medications, which will now carry more stigma and scrutiny.

"Am I going to face legal ramifications because I’m providing health care that is valid, that is evidence-based, to a person who needs it?" Thomas-Magee said. "It makes the provider vulnerable, just as it makes the patient vulnerable, because it’s our livelihood, and I don’t want to be prosecuted just because I’m trying to save a person’s life."

More than 50% of abortions in the United States are carried out using the abortion pills, not a surgical procedure. Removing access to safe abortion medication on top of bans on surgical procedures further restricts access to reproductive healthcare and violates patients' right to privacy.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously earlier this year that a case brought by the anti-abortion organization Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine attempting to severely restrict access to mifepristone and misoprostol nationally lacked Article III standing. This ruling stopped national restrictions on abortion pills for now.