Louisiana becomes first state to criminalize abortion pills without prescription

Louisiana has become the first state to make abortion pills illegal without a prescription after the state’s Republican governor signed a bill into law on Friday. Controversial Bill Designates two types of abortion pills as controlled substances.

The law makes it illegal to obtain mifepristone and misoprostol, two drugs used to induce medical abortions, without a prescription.

Gov. Jeff Landry, in a speech Friday, said signing the bill into law was “common sense.” Post to social media platform X.

“Requiring abortion pills to be available without a prescription and making it a crime to administer them to unsuspecting mothers defies common sense.“se,” Landry wrote. “This bill will protect women across Louisiana, and I am proud to sign this bill into law today.“

The unprecedented move makes Louisiana the first state to designate abortion pills as a controlled substance, adding them to the Louisiana Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act. The law, which takes effect on October 1, stipulates that the two abortion pills can only be legally obtained in the state through specially licensed doctors.

Possession of drugs without a prescription currently carries a prison sentence of up to five years, but the law provides some protections for pregnant women who possess drugs for their own use, the Associated Press reported.

Previously, Louisiana required a prescription to take mifepristone and misoprostol, but possessing them without a prescription was not a crime. The Louisiana House of Representatives passed the change by a vote of 64-29 earlier this week. The state Senate also passed the bill on Thursday by a vote of 29-7.

Vice President Harris previously slammed the bill after it passed its first hurdle in the state, calling it “utterly unconscionable.”

“The Louisiana Legislature has passed a bill making possession of abortion pills a crime punishable by up to several years in prison,” she wrote. Post to X“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump did this.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, several states have enacted stricter laws regarding abortion, including Arizona, where officials enacted a near-total abortion ban that was repealed soon after it was passed.