Louisiana Sued Over Law Classifying Abortion Pills as “Controlled Substances” – Mother Jones

An abortion rights advocate stands before the U.S. Supreme Court in March, before oral arguments in a lawsuit over the abortion drug mifespristone.Sue Dorfman/Zuma

Earlier this month, Louisiana became the first state in the country to classify the two drugs most commonly used in medication abortions, mifepristone and misoprostol, as Schedule IV controlled substances, creating harsh penalties for their unauthorized use. Medical providers sounded alarms when the GOP-controlled legislature passed the law: Abortion is already banned in the state in almost all cases, and the new classification would delay life-saving care for people suffering from miscarriages and non-pregnancy-related health conditions.

Now, in a newly presented document lawsuitDoulas, medical providers and women who are denied care under the state’s abortion law argue that the new classification of mifepristone and misoprostol goes against the Louisiana constitution. By separating medications from others with similar risk profiles, the lawsuit contends, the new law discriminates against people based on their physical conditions, those who are treated with mifepristone and misoprostol.

In Louisiana, controlled substances are divided into five categories based on their medical indications and risk of abuse: Schedule I is the highest risk and Schedule V is the lowest risk. The current list of Schedule IV drugs includes opioids, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines, all drugs with a high potential for addiction. The classification of mifepristone and misoprostol as dangerous drugs subjects them to strict regulations. But they are not dangerous drugs nor do they have the potential for abuse like their Schedule IV counterparts; more than 100 studies They have been shown to be safe and effective in terminating pregnancy. Contrary to its current classification in Louisiana as potentially addictive, the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the drugs decades ago, has never found that the drugs lead to physical or psychological dependence.

Misoprostol and mifepristone have been shown to be effective in various contexts. Both are used in miscarriage care, mifepristone is used to treat ovarian cancer and misoprostol is crucial for controlling postpartum hemorrhage. Lower Louisiana lawAnyone in possession of any of the drugs, except pregnant women, is subject to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The classification, the lawsuit argues, subjects the drugs to a “highly regulated legal scheme” that delays care. Previously, misoprostol was commonly stored in obstetric hemorrhage carts or in staff pockets. But under its new status, only a provider licensed to administer controlled substances can retrieve the medication from locked cabinets where other scheduled substances, such as narcotics, are stored. As a New Orleans OB/GYN said My colleague Julianne McShane, in a medical emergency time is of the essence and even a delay of several minutes can have disastrous consequences.

Pregnant women were already denied care before medications were reclassified. One of the plaintiffs, Kaitlyn Joshua, denied care for miscarriage by two hospitals due to the state’s abortion ban. “Now lawmakers have passed another law that makes it more difficult to receive care during a miscarriage, and they did so without following the requirements of the state constitution,” Joshua said in a news release.