Lawmakers in Louisiana approved a bill on Tuesday that would criminalize the possession of abortion pills without a prescription, a move Vice President Kamala Harris criticized as “unconscionable.”
The bill, which still needs to pass the state senate, targets two medications—mifepristone and misoprostol—commonly used for abortions. If enacted, these drugs would be classified as Schedule IV controlled substances in Louisiana, placing them on the same level as Valium and Xanax. This legislative move comes amid intense debates over abortion rights ahead of the November presidential election.
Possession of the medication without a prescription would result in penalties of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, as outlined in the bill.
Exemptions would be granted to authorized medical practitioners, as well as pregnant women who possess the medication for their own use.
Democrats view strict anti-abortion measures as a political disadvantage for Republicans and have therefore made it a central issue in their campaign strategies.
“Absolutely unconscionable. The Louisiana House just passed a bill that would criminalize the possession of medication abortion, with penalties of up to several years of jail time,” Harris wrote on Tuesday.
“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump did this,” emphasized Harris, who previously criticized Trump for his role in the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the federal protection of abortion rights overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
In Louisiana, abortion is prohibited with only very limited exceptions for cases involving risks to the mother’s life or fetuses with fatal abnormalities.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign announced plans to host a virtual news conference on the Louisiana bill Wednesday morning, featuring a reproductive health legal expert and a woman who experienced denial of healthcare following a miscarriage in the state.
Trump mentioned to Time magazine in April that he held “pretty strong views” on women’s access to mifepristone and promised to share his opinions within a week of the interview, but ultimately did not do so.
The Republican candidate has conveyed conflicting messages regarding abortion. In March, he indicated support for a nationwide ban on abortion at 15 or 16 weeks of pregnancy, but later revised his stance to suggest that such decisions should be determined by individual states.
