Louisiana Becomes First U.S. State to Classify Abortion Pills as Controlled Substances

Louisiana has become the first state in the United States of America to introduce two abortion inducing drugs into the controlled substances list, which is usually placed on substances that have notch abuse or addiction. The bill was sponsored by the Republican Governor Jeff Landry on Friday and focuses on mifepristone and misoprostol that are accurate contraceptions approved by the FDA over two decades ago.

New law sets these medications as Schedule IV drugs like Xanax and Valium though they are not regarded as addictive by doctors. This reclassification makes it even harder to get these pills in Louisiana, where abortions are for the most part banned.

Opponents continue that it will also make it general use of the drugs more difficult, including for urgent uses like inducing labor or treating miscarriages, as well as for preventing ulcer-related bleeding. Doctors who will be allowed to prescribe them will require a special permit, while patients will have to register their prescriptions in a state database that will be easily accessible by law enforcement agencies without a warrant, which in turn raises questions about patients’ rights to privacy and possible investigations into doctors.

The maneuver is decided against the background of the continuous litigation against its attempts to broaden access to postsurgical abortion drugs and brings back the issue of the limitations on abortion to the political agenda in an election year. La legislation passed through Louisiana’s Republican-dominated House and Senate, the act of which was designed to make it harder for individuals to get the pills from outside of their home state or via the internet without a prescription.

“It creates more onus, more chaos and confusion for the people who use this medication,” said Kirsten Moore from the American Sexual Health Association and head of the Expanding Medication Abortion Access (EMMA) Project, which aims to protect women’s rights to control their own bodies: “Its intent is to put mifepristone and misoprostol back in the medicine chest. ”