US state classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as dangerous controlled substances

The southern US state of Louisiana passed legislation on 25 May that classified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances like narcotics, making it more difficult for doctors to prescribe them and for patients to get them.1Both mifepristone and misoprostol are used in medical abortions. However, they are also used for other reasons such as inducing childbirth, stopping uterine haemorrhage, miscarriages, and some non-obstetric indications. Louisiana currently bans abortions in almost all circumstances.These drugs already require a prescription, and Louisiana law makes it a crime to use them to induce an abortion. However, classifying them as controlled substances means that doctors must get a special licence to prescribe them and that they must be stored in special facilities. Anyone possessing the drugs without a valid prescription would face a fine and a possible jail sentence.Louisiana’s Senate Bill 276 would also make it a crime to give the drugs to a person…
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