Louisiana moves to add abortion pills to list of controlled dangerous substances

State lawmakers add amendment to anti-abortion bill to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV drugs

Louisiana may soon become the first state in the country to pass a bill adding two common abortion pills to the state’s list of controlled dangerous substances, leading individuals who are caught with the drugs and lack authorization to potentially face years in prison.

Like the rest of the US deep south, Louisiana already bans almost all abortions. But recently, when a house committee in the Republican-controlled legislature debated a bill to ban people from performing abortions on people without their consent, lawmakers added an amendment to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol, the two drugs typically used in medication abortions, as Schedule IV drugs.