United States: The Louisiana Senate’s vote on Thursday to reclassify the two drugs
used in medication abortion as controlled substances marks the latest development in a nationwide battle over abortion pills.
How does Louisiana’s Law add to abortion restrictions?
Mifepristone and misoprostol are classified by law as Schedule IV substances, which means that because of the possibility of abuse or dependence, they need to be supervised more closely.
This places the abortion pills in the same class as drugs used to treat anxiety, such as Valium and Xanax. Possession of them without a prescription or outside of a licensed medical facility is illegal according to the law, and it carries a maximum $5,000 fine and a maximum of five years in jail.
This increases the risk for citizens of Louisiana, who already have an almost complete prohibition on abortion, bringing abortion-inducing medications from out-of-state or ordering them online without a prescription.
Who else is affected?
Pregnant women are not prosecuted, but friends, family, and other caregivers who may assist them in obtaining the medicines are not. Women who wish to purchase them as a precaution but are not pregnant are not either.
To prescribe the medications, doctors will require a specific license, and the state will record the prescriptions in a database that can be accessed by police authorities with a warrant. This could threaten patient privacy and make doctors reluctant to prescribe them.
Critics claim that those who require misoprostol for other conditions will find it more difficult as a result of the regulation. Among its other uses, the medication is used to cure miscarriages, induce labor, lower the risk of severe bleeding from ulcers, and other conditions.
Could the law be challenged in the Court?
Indeed. Doctors, women, and drug manufacturers in Louisiana might all contend that they are injured by the law and have the right to fight it in court.
One possible defense is that by limiting access to essential medical treatment, the statute infringes upon the fundamental rights guaranteed by the state constitution to inhabitants of Louisiana.
Plaintiffs may also argue that the federal government’s policy of making the medications available is in violation with the law. The only instance that is similar, though, is a 2014 court decision in Massachusetts that said the state could not completely outlaw prescription painkillers, something that Louisiana’s bill does not do.
Any other states considering similar laws?
Although Reuters could not find any bills that were identical, historical data indicates that copycat laws are probably coming. For instance, several other states adopted legislation similar to Texas’s, which permits private lawsuits against individuals who assist or abet in procuring an abortion.
Where is the fight over abortion pills unfolding?
Anti-abortion medical groups and physicians are suing the U.S. Supreme Court to limit access to mifepristone, including prohibiting its prescription by mail order or through telemedicine.
In the meantime, “shield laws” have been introduced in a number of Democratic-led states to safeguard physicians who provide abortion pills to patients in areas where the practice is prohibited.