Kamala Harris makes new Louisiana abortion law campaign issue in presidential race
A new Louisiana law classifying abortion pills misoprostol and mifepristone as controlled dangerous substances has become a campaign issue in the presidential race, with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris claiming similar laws would sweep the country if under Republican opponent Donald Trump.
The Harris campaign sent an email late Tuesday saying the Louisiana law creates "new barriers to access for patients in dire need" and cited a story by The Illuminator in which doctors expressed concern that the drugs won't be quickly accessible if needed to treat emergency non-abortion conditions like postpartum hemorrhaging.
Under the new that goes into effect Oct. 1, misoprostol and mifepristone could still be used to treat conditions other than abortion, but as controlled dangerous substances they would have to be prescribed.
The Harris campaign issued the following statement in it's email: "Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is the reason Louisiana women who are suffering from miscarriages or bleeding out after birth can no longer receive the critical care they would have received before Trump overturned Roe. Because of Trump, doctors are scrambling to find solutions to save their patients and are left at the whims of politicians who think they know better. Trump is proud of what he’s done. He brags about it. And if he wins, he will threaten to bring the crisis he created for Louisiana women to all 50 states."
Trump didn't make abortion illegal himself as president, but Harris said his appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court tipped the scales that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to make their own decisions about abortion.
Louisiana will be the first state to classify misoprostol and mifepristone as controlled dangerous substances.
Abortion is already illegal in Louisiana, as are the use of the pills to induce an abortion.
The new classification of misoprostol and mifepristone was included in Senate Bill 276 by Republican Shreveport Sen. Thomas Pressly creating "coerced abortion by means of fraud" as a crime after his sister Catherine Pressly Herring's husband tried to secretly abort their baby by spiking her drinks with the abortion-inducing pills.
The bill carries criminal prison penalties for anyone in possession of misoprostol or mifepristone without a valid prescription, though there is an exception for pregnant women.
Pressly told USA Today Network he doesn't believe his bill will present a barrier to accessing the medication "for legitimate medical purposes other than abortion."
But more than 200 doctors and medical students signed a letter this summer said the bill would create “fear and confusion among patients, doctors and pharmacists, which delays care and worsens outcomes."
Harris already had criticized the law as vice president before she was running for president, posting on X earlier this summer: "Absolutely unconscionable. The Louisiana House just passed a bill that would criminalize the possession of medication abortion, with penalties of up to several years of jail time. Let’s be clear: Donald Trump did this."
Pressly fired back on the platform with his own post: "No, @KamalaHarris, what’s unconscionable is blatantly lying about my bill. Leaving out the part about 'not having a valid prescription' & our efforts to protect expectant mothers from being slipped abortion meds by diabolical spouses, that’s kind of a big omission. Do better."
More: Will Supreme Court abortion pill decision change access to mifepristone in Louisiana?
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Kamala Harris makes new Louisiana abortion law campaign issue