Abortion drugs now classified as controlled substances in Louisiana

Zoom in: Louisiana becomes the first state to label the two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, as controlled substances.

• Abortion has been illegal in Louisiana since a trigger law went into effect with the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
• The two drugs are also useful for inducing labor, preventing ulcers, and treating constipation and postpartum hemorrhages. Misoprostol is often one of the first drugs doctors look for if a woman begins bleeding out after giving birth, reports WWNO's Rosemary Westwood.

Now the drugs will have to be stored behind lock and key, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

• Maternity units at LCMC Health and Ochsner Health System will have lockboxes with the drugs, the Louisiana Illuminator reports.

The fine print: A person caught with the drugs without a prescription could face up to five years in prison and have to pay a fine of up to $5,000.

• But the law couldn't be used to prosecute a pregnant person who holds the drugs for their own use, even without a prescription.

The latest: New Orleans City Council asked the city's health department last week to "investigate and study any delay of care issues" stemming from the new law.

Between the lines: The bill began as an effort to criminalize giving someone abortion drugs without their knowledge, and the reclassification was later added as an amendment.

• Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, submitted the legislation after his sister, a Texas resident, unknowingly consumed an abortion pill after her husband put it in her drink.
• The new law creates the crime of "coerced criminal abortion."

What we're watching: Other states may follow Louisiana's example.

• Most abortions last year were medicated, according to one study.