By Merve Berker
ANKARA (AA) – Louisiana became the first US state to sign a landmark bill classifying abortion drugs as banned substances, alongside opioids and other dangerous prescriptions, local media reported on Saturday.
The new law effective from Oct. 1, signed by Governor Jeff Landry, makes it unlawful to carry the medications without a prescription in Louisiana, which has a nearly complete prohibition on abortion, American media network ABC reported.
"Requiring an abortion inducing drug to be obtained with a prescription and criminalizing the use of an abortion drug on an unsuspecting mother is nothing short of common sense," Landry said in a statement posted on X, adding, "This bill protects women across Louisiana and I was proud to sign this bill into law today."
However, pregnant women who have the pills for personal use are exempt, it added.
The legislation also introduces penalties for coerced abortions, with harsher punishment for those targeting women who are more than three months pregnant.
US Senator Thomas Pressly, driven by personal experience, spearheaded the charge on this bill.
Meanwhile, a federal case challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a key abortion pill, could have far-reaching implications for nationwide access to medication abortions.
Currently, the Guttmacher Institute, which is dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) on a global scale, suggests that pharmaceutical medication constitutes a large proportion of terminations.