LOUISIANA, USA — Louisiana is on the verge of becoming the first state in the country to reclassify two commonly used abortion drugs as controlled and dangerous substances.
Dr. Smita Prasad, an assistant professor at Tulane Medical School, is an expert in addictive medicine. She believes the bill is an effort to keep the drugs out of the state.
“This is really abusing how the DEA intended to schedule dangerous medications," Prasad said.
As President of the Louisiana Society of Addiction Medicine, Prasad has voiced her opposition to the bill. Meanwhile, supporters of the bill think the drugs are a risk to public health.
SB 276 will make it illegal to possess Mifepristone and Misoprostol without a prescription, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $75,000 in fines. The drug combination was used in more than half of abortions nationwide last year, and the FDA says it's effective.
In a tense exchange on the Senate floor Thursday, State Senator Royce Duplessis (D - New Orleans) questioned the bill's author, Senator Thomas Pressly (R - Shreveport).
“Your amendment will cause a delay and put a barrier to their access to it when they need it the most, especially in rural communities," Duplessis said.
Pressly disagreed and said individuals needing the drug should have no issue getting it prescribed by a doctor. The state senator said he authored the bill in support of his sister who was a victim of domestic violence and was drugged with Misoprostol, Pressly said.
"I brought this [bill] to protect the women in Louisiana," Pressly said.
Drugging someone and having an abortion is already illegal in Louisiana.
“It limits access to medication that could potentially save a woman’s life. These medicines are used for other things," Prasad said.
Prasad said it could delay care and make it more difficult for physicians to prescribe the drugs which are also used to treat other conditions, such as ulcers, and to manage miscarriages and induce labor.
The reclassification would require doctors to have a special license to write a prescription and the drugs would have to be stored in certain facilities.
Meanwhile, the US is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on Mifepristone which could impose a nationwide ban. A decision is expected by the end of June.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.