Effective Oct. 1, misoprostol, used to treat post-delivery hemorrhages, will become a Schedule IV controlled dangerous substance in Louisiana under a new law. The designation means the medicine will have to be securely stored, raising concerns among doctors who say they rely on immediate access to the medication in life-threatening situations. (Photo illustration by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS — Doctors and local elected officials alike vehemently decried a new Louisiana law that will reclassify the pregnancy care drugs misoprostol and mifepristone as controlled dangerous substances. The legislation takes effect on Oct. 1 and is the first of its kind in the nation.
“Women are not safe in Louisiana,” New Orleans City Councilwoman Lesli Harris said at a committee meeting Wednesday. “Child bearing women are not safe in Louisiana.”
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill in May to reclassify the two drugs because of their association with medication abortion, but they have numerous other medical uses. Misoprostol, in particular, is used daily by OB-GYNs for miscarriage management, postpartum hemorrhaging and intrauterine device (IUD) insertion.