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By Andrew Stanton
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The abortion pill legislation passed by Louisiana lawmakers on Thursday could have sent the bill sponsor's brother-in-law to jail for 10 years.
On Thursday, Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill that, if signed into law, would reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol, pills that are used to terminate a pregnancy through medication, as controlled substances. This means it would become a crime in Louisiana to obtain the pills without a prescription.
The bill would reclassify them as Schedule IV drugs, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The bill's passage drew swift condemnation from reproductive rights advocates who view the legislation as the latest attack against abortion rights in the years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that for decades guaranteed reproductive rights across the country.
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It is already illegal to use them to induce an abortion in most cases in Louisiana, as the state is among the conservative-leaning states that banned abortion in the wake of the High Court's overturning of Roe, according to AP.
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The bill passed 29-7 and now goes to the desk of Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican who opposes abortion rights. The Louisiana House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this week.
The bill initially focused on adding penalties for coerced abortion. But the bill's sponsor, Senator Thomas Presley, in April added amendments to the bill that would reclassify the abortion pills as Schedule IV drugs, making it a crime to use them without a prescription, according to The New York Times.
Presley previously explained why he introduced the bill in an interview with The Shreveport Times published on March 6. He told the publication that he introduced the bill after his own family's experiences with attempted coerced abortion.
His sister, Catherine Herring, was pregnant in 2022 when her husband gave her a glass of water that appeared to be cloudy. He said the cloudiness may have been because of dirty pipes or cups, but she soon became sick. She then installed cameras inside her home that showed he was spiking her drink with abortion pills, the publication reported.
Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to injuring a child and assault of a pregnant person, the Times reported. His plea deal landed him a 6-month jail sentence. If this bill were in effect, however, he would have faced a possible 10-year jail term.
Presley told the local newspaper that the 6-month sentence was not "punishment enough for committing this crime." He said he introduced the Abortion By Fraud Criminalization Act to ensure "other women don't have to go through this."
Newsweek reached out to Presley's office for comment via email on Thursday.
The bill initially garnered little attention and faced scant opposition until April 30, when Presley added the amendments to reclassify the pills as Schedule IV drugs, comparable to Valium, Xanax or Ambien.
More than 200 Louisiana doctors signed a letter warning lawmakers about the consequences the bill would have on their patients.
According to Jezebel, which first reported the letter, the doctors warned that medical professionals who use the medication would face "unjustified mistrust by patients and fear of the medication."
"This could also delay treatment that could be life-saving," the letter warned.
In an April 30 statement, Presley wrote that he introduced the amendments to "control the rampant illegal distribution of abortion-inducing drugs that ended up hurting my sister."
"By placing these drugs on the controlled substance list, we will assist law enforcement in protecting vulnerable women and unborn babies," he wrote.
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