May 23, 2024

SENATOR MAHER ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER LOUISIANA PASSES LEGISLATION, EXPECTED TO BECOME LAW, DECLARING ABORTION PILLS TO BE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

Today, State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) issued the following statement after reports that Louisiana’s state legislature passed legislation that would reclassify abortion-inducing drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances despite more than 200 Louisiana doctors telling lawmakers the bill could cause a barrier to physicians’ ability to prescribe appropriate treatment, further worsening outcomes in one of the worst states for maternal mortality in the country. In addition to abortions, mifepristone can also be used to treat miscarriages, induce labor and prevent hemorrhaging.

“In Connecticut, we pass legislation to protect reproductive health care and provide our citizens with the freedom to make their own choices. It appears that Louisiana is working to restrict the choices of its residents. The state already has a near-universal ban on abortion, and this legislation seems to be an attempt to make that extreme even more stark; it also seems to be a bellwether of further attempted restrictions on abortion access. This medication has been on the market for decades and has a number of medical uses; this bill makes its possession or provision a crime subject to arrest and prosecution. I fear that in a state with the second-worse maternal mortality rate in the country and the fifth-highest infant mortality rate in the country – and where four Black mothers and two Black babies die for every white mother and baby who dies – that this bill will only serve to worsen those disparities and harm more innocent people.”