Louisiana bill would classify abortion drugs in same category as highly regulated medications

A Louisiana bill would classify the abortion-inducing drugs misoprostol and mifeprostone as Schedule IV substances in the state, placing them in the same category as highly regulated drugs such as narcotics and depressants.

A Louisiana bill would classify the abortion-inducing drugs misoprostol and mifeprostone as Schedule IV substances in the state, placing them in the same category as highly regulated drugs such as narcotics and depressants. The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Thomas Pressly, said he proposed the legislation after his sister was given misoprostol against her will. Abortion is already banned in Louisiana with no exceptions for rape or incest. The bill sparked outcry from a group of nearly 270 Louisiana physicians, health care providers and medical students, who signed a letter to Pressly expressing concerns over the reclassification. The letter, obtained by CNN, says in part, “neither mifepristone nor misoprostol have been shown to have any potential for abuse, dependence, public health risk, nor high rates of adverse side effects.” The letter continues that placing the drugs under Schedule IV would create “the false perception that these are dangerous drugs that require additional regulation” and that they are “widely prescribed and taken safely.”