Health Care

Louisiana set to criminalize abortion-inducing drug possession

The move further stirs the national debate over an issue dividing the country.
Bottles of the drug misoprostol sit on a table at the West Alabama Women’s Center on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Louisiana is poised to become the first state to criminalize the possession of drugs used to induce abortion, a move already sending shockwaves through a country sharply divided over abortion rights.

Under a bill the House passed Tuesday on a 64-29 vote, mifepristone and misoprostol would be reclassified as controlled dangerous substances, allowing for a potential penalty of one to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines for possession of either drug without a valid prescription.

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