Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood, tells me: “Gov. Landry is leading a race to the bottom. The results have been catastrophic for women in Louisiana, and there is no doubt in my mind that everything he’s doing in this state will ultimately serve as a model for anti-abortion politicians across the country.” Read … Read more
This near-total abortion ban pushed through by far-right local politicians will only exacerbate Louisiana’s dire maternal mortality crisis, which has seen low-income Black Lousianians suffer a disproportionately high rate of preventable deaths. In effect, this ban has ushered the War on Drugs into the realm of abortion care, sentencing pregnant people—particularly Black pregnant people—to profound, … Read more
The Biden campaign also released a new ad featuring Kaitlyn Joshua, a Louisiana woman who says she was turned away from two emergency rooms while having a miscarriage at 11 weeks of pregnancy in the state, which has a strict abortion ban. “That was a direct result of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade,” Joshua … Read more
Defenders of the laws, which states started passing a half-century ago, see legislation and arguments to repeal them as the latest effort to restrict women’s rights – following the overturning of Roe v Wade and passage of abortion bans around the country – and say that without such protections, the country would return to an … Read more
“Health professionals who need to prescribe the medication for any reason—even the many uses of the drug that are not termination of pregnancy—will now have to jump through many hurdles,” Melissa Goodman, the executive director of UCLA Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy, told me in an email. “Delays are likely.” She noted … Read more
Hundreds of physicians in Louisiana protested the bill, citing fears that the law will interfere with patient care given how commonly misoprostol is used to save lives in pregnancy care. “Placing mifepristone and misoprostol on the controlled substances list is harmful and malicious,” State Rep. Mandie Landry said prior to the the governor’s signature. “It is purely … Read more
Louisiana is not a great place to get pregnant. If you need an abortion, a near-total ban means it’s almost impossible to get one, even in cases of rape or incest – anyone who provides an abortion deemed illegal can go to jail for 15 years. And if you plan on having the baby, you … Read more
Louisiana governor signs law to declare abortion drugs ‘dangerous substances’ Critics of the proposal fear it will limit options for prompt care in emergency situations, especially in rural areas where access to medical professionals with prescription authority is limited. More than 200 physicians signed a letter sent to the proposal’s author, Sen. Thomas Pressly, asking … Read more
Louisiana Legislature approves bill to classify abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances More than 200 doctors in the state signed a letter to lawmakers warning that it could produce a “barrier to physicians’ ease of prescribing appropriate treatment” and cause unnecessary fear and confusion among both patients and doctors. The physicians warn that any delay to obtaining … Read more
Freehill says that while advocates of the reclassification amendments claim doctors can keep using the medications as they did before, this only works in theory. Since Dobbs, she’s had numerous problems getting misoprostol filled for patients and had multiple instances of pharmacists telling her they would not prescribe it under any circumstances. She worries this … Read more
