Proposed legislation that would make some uses of abortion medication considered “racketeering” under the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law is set to be discussed by Louisiana lawmakers next week.
According to text of proposed Senate Bill 267, it “creates the crime of coerced criminal abortion by means of fraud to prohibit a third-party from knowingly using an abortion-inducing drug to cause, or attempt to cause, an abortion on an unsuspecting pregnant mother without her knowledge or consent and amends various abortion criminal laws to add the crime of attempted abortion.”
Louisiana Sen. Tom Pressly is sponsoring the bill.
“Catherine Herring, Pressly’s sister, testifies in support of the bill,” said an April 30 X post from Louisiana Right to Life. “Catherine shared her story of being drugged with abortion pills by her ex-husband, who is now in prison facing a sentence of only 180 days.”
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, abortion laws in the U.S. have become more restrictive in several states. In Florida, for example, a six-week abortion ban went into effect earlier this month.
“In a sneak attack last Tuesday, the House Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) committee approved SB 276 with a new amendment that would add mifepristone and misoprostol to Schedule IV in the state’s Controlled Substances Act, a transparent attempt to stoke anti-abortion fear and to further isolate patients and surveil and criminalize pregnancy outcomes in Louisiana,” said Planned Parenthood on May 6.
If Senate Bill 276 passes in Louisiana, it would be a first-of-its-kind law and “open up a new front” for legislation against abortion medication, NPR reported. In response to the bill, Louisiana doctors asked that abortion medication not be considered a controlled substance, said Jezebel.
“‘If it is incorrectly labeled as a controlled substance’ doctors who use this medication ‘would be subject to unjustified mistrust by patients and fear of the medication,’ reads an open letter obtained by Jezebel,” said the outlet.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it is likely to allow the abortion medication mifepristone to remain widely available. In March, researchers also published a study that found provisions for medications used for self-managed abortion increased after the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.
The Louisiana legislation is scheduled for a floor debate Monday.