A bill traveling through the Louisiana legislature is seeking to outlaw possession of unprescribed, FDA-approved abortion pills. If the bill passes, the state will be the first to classify medication abortion as controlled dangerous substances.
The medicines, mifepristone and misoprostol, are approved to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks of gestation. As the Supreme Court hears arguments about the FDA expanding access to mifepristone — with justices leaning in favor of the FDA — Louisiana lawmakers are weighing whether to categorize the pills as Schedule IV medications.
Schedule IV drugs have a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence, including some cough medicines and painkillers, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. If the bill passes and abortion pills are placed in this category, any person who possesses the medications without a prescription could face imprisonment between one and five years, plus a fine of up to $5,000.
"It shall not be a violation … for a pregnant woman to possess mifepristone or misoprostol for her own consumption," the bill says, clarifying the difference between a prescribed and non-prescribed Schedule IV medication.
The proposed legislation is an amendment to another bill that seeks to criminalize administering medication abortion without a person's consent. Lawmakers have until June 3 to decide on the bill before sending it to the state's governor, CNN reported.