John

The state of Louisiana, where abortion is already criminalized even in cases of rape and incest, has now criminalized the possession of abortion pills as well.

Despite being proven safe over decades of use, Louisiana has placed the medications mifepristone and misoprostol on their list of dangerous controlled substances. Possession without a prescription is punishable by up to five years in prison and a big fine.

The law will not criminalize pregnant people for possession. However, family members can be imprisoned for obtaining the pills for their daughters, sisters, or partners, and non-pregnant women cannot keep them on hand.

These medications have additional medical uses beyond their use as abortifacients, including to ease miscarriages, to induce labor, and to prevent gastrointestinal ulcers. However, as scheduled drugs in Louisiana, they will need to be kept in special storage facilities, which will significantly reduce their availability at rural clinics.

There is also a concern that other states, or Congress itself, could follow the state’s example, or even ban the use of the pills altogether, even where abortion is legal. In fact, “Project 2025,” the proposed agenda for a second Trump term, includes a nationwide abortion ban.

Now is the time to send a direct message to your governor, urging them to veto any bill that reschedules and criminalizes abortion pills. You can increase the impact of our pre-written letter, if you choose to modify it with your own personal information.

This law denies women the right to self-care and bodily autonomy, putting their lives at risk. Low income women and women of color will be the most affected.

These two medications are currently used in 63% of abortions nationwide, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and they are especially useful for women who want to manage their abortion at home, or to induce labor at home as well.

A lack of safe alternatives can drive pregnant people to unsafe extremes, even to try dangerous procedures we thought had been firmly left in the past. No one should be in such desperate circumstances. The availability of safe, medication-induced abortion at home is worlds apart from such dangerous methods.

Send a message to your governor today. Tell them to veto any legislation that will criminalize the safe and effective medications mifepristone and misoprostol for self-managed reproductive health care.

Thank you for supporting these crucial human rights for women.

- DFA AF Team