The Louisiana House on Tuesday approved a bill to add two abortion-inducing drugs to the list of Schedule IV controlled dangerous substances in the state, making it a felony for anyone to possess them without a valid prescription.
The measure, Senate Bill 276, passed 64-29 in the Republican-controlled lower chamber after an hour of debate and some amendments. It will now be sent back to the Senate for concurrence, and then on to the desk of Gov. Jeff Landry (R).
If it is signed into law as expected, Louisiana will become the first state in the country to consider the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol in the same category as narcotics and depressants, making their possession without a valid prescription a crime punishable by fines of up to $5,000 and years-long jail terms.
