For Immediate Release: May 21, 2024
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LA Bill Punishes Coercers, Lists Abortion Drugs as Controlled Substance
Baton Rouge, La. – Louisiana is one step closer to establishing a law punishing those who poison a pregnant woman with abortion drugs without her consent.
Bill sponsor Sen. Thomas Pressly named the bill in honor of his sister Catherine Herring, whose daughter Josephine was almost killed by her soon-to-be-ex-husband who slipped abortion drugs he obtained from Mexico into Catherine’s drinks. The husband received 180 days in county jail for attempting to kill his unborn child multiple times.
“There was no ‘choice’ involved when my husband slipped abortion drugs into my drinks seven times,” said Catherine Herring. “I suffered serious side effects from the drugs that almost took my daughter’s life. As a survivor of domestic violence, I’m grateful for Louisiana’s willingness to protect women and children from those who intend to harm them with abortion drugs.”
Passed by the House today in a 64-29 bipartisan vote, SB 276 also adds mifepristone and misoprostol to Louisiana’s controlled substance list. The bill allows doctors to continue prescribing the drugs for non-abortion reasons and explicitly does not punish women.
Southern Regional Director Caitlin Connors celebrated the passage of the Catherine and Josephine Herring Act:
“Adding abortion drugs to the controlled substance list should be uncontroversial. Like morphine and Valium, the drugs in question will still be available for prescription for legitimate medical reasons – like miscarriage care – but will be harder for abusers to obtain. This move is necessary in a world where pro-abortion Democrats have enabled abusers to coerce and poison mothers with dangerous abortion drugs by removing in-person doctor visits and giving abortionists immunity through shield laws. Women deserve better. We thank Sen. Pressly and the sponsors of the Catherine and Josephine Herring Act, and look forward to Gov. Landry signing this protection into law to hold abusers accountable.”
In addition to ending the life of a baby in the womb, abortion drugs can cause hemorrhaging, infection, and in some situations, death. Under a Biden administration rule, abortion drugs can be sent through the mail and prescribed without an in-person doctor visit. A new peer-reviewed article documents how the FDA relied on cherrypicked data to justify the rule.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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