On Friday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry approved Senate Bill 276, placing two drugs commonly used in medical abortions, Misoprostol and Mifepristone, on the Schedule IV controlled substances list, the first state in the U.S. to do so. Louisiana defines Schedule IV substances as those with a limited potential for abuse and dependence relative to those on the three higher schedules, that also have a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
The bill imposes stiff penalties for the possession of these drugs, including imprisonment ranging from one to five years, potentially with hard labor, and fines up to $5,000. It also criminalizes the act of causing someone else’s abortion by fraud, punishable by 10 to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor and fines up to $100,000.
According to information from Planned Parenthood, Mifepristone halts pregnancy development, while Misoprostol causes cramping and bleeding that empties the uterus, thus terminating the pregnancy. Typically, these drugs are consumed within 11 weeks after the first day of the last menstrual period.
This move by Louisiana follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization two years ago. In that decision, the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of legal precedent, represented by the landmark Roe v. Wade case, that had recognized a constitutional right to abortion prior to a point of fetal viability at around 24 weeks’ gestation.
The newly signed law in Louisiana will go into effect starting October 1.