The Quickie: Louisiana Lawmakers Pass Bill to Criminalize Safe, Essential Medications

Welcome to “The Quickie'' — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: Louisiana lawmakers pass bill to criminalize essential medications, Disability Reproductive Equity day on Capitol Hill, and repro champs in the House fight for contraception coverage for service members and their families.

LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS PASS BILL TO CRIMINALIZE SAFE, ESSENTIAL MEDICATIONS: Yesterday, the Louisiana Senate gave final approval to SB 276, a bill amended in the House to classify mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances in the state. The first of its kind in the nation, the bill criminalizes unlawful possession of these two safe and effective medications, which are routinely prescribed for miscarriage management, postpartum hemorrhage, inducing labor, preventing stomach ulcers, and more. The bill now heads to Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk.

Statement from Petrice Sams-Abiodun, PhD, vice president of strategic partnerships - Louisiana, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast:

“Our lawmakers have failed us yet again. By shamefully passing this bill with a harmful amendment written and pushed by anti-abortion extremists – not doctors – our legislature will make pregnancy and childbirth even more dangerous in a state that already suffers from the worst maternal health outcomes in the nation, especially for Black women and people in rural areas…Mischaracterizing these medications as Schedule IV controlled substances is inappropriate and dangerous and will only make it harder for Louisianans to get time-sensitive medical treatment they desperately need. These medications simply do not belong on the Schedule IV controlled substances list – just like politicians don’t belong in our exam rooms and ERs.”

DISABILITY REPRODUCTIVE EQUITY DAY HIGHLIGHTED ON CAPITOL HILL: Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Patty Murray announced their new Disability Reproductive Equity Act yesterday, which would establish an annual Disability Reproductive Equity Day. 

Groups from the disability reproductive equity coalition joined a rally to proudly support the legislation and the importance of disability rights — including Mia Ives-Rublee of the Center for American Progress, Rebecca Cokley, Tory Cross of Caring Across Generations, AJ Link of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Ma'ayan Anafi of the National Women’s Law Center, and Jess Davidson of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Karen Stone, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s vice president of public policy and government relations,  spoke at the rally outside the U.S. Capitol, saying, “People with disabilities currently confront harmful stereotypes and discrimination in health care settings, while also confronting financial, physical, social and communications barriers to reproductive care that are exacerbated by bans and other restrictions. Everyone deserves access to the health care they need when they need it.”

REPRO CHAMPS IN THE HOUSE FIGHT TO GUARANTEE CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES: This week, the House Armed Services Committee advanced the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

For the second year in a row, Rep. Veronica Escobar offered an amendment to eliminate copays for contraception through TRICARE, the health care program for uniformed service members and their families. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) already guarantees that employer-sponsored and marketplace health plans must cover contraception without copays, this provision ensures service members and their families have equal coverage. And Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, also offered an amendment to allow TRICARE beneficiaries to get a year-long prescription of contraception. Both of these amendments were adopted. 

It’s clear: all people - including service members and military families - deserve the freedom to decide whether, when, or how to become a parent without unnecessary barriers. 

The House is expected to take up the NDAA this summer. Last year, the NDAA passed by the House included harmful provisions attacking access to abortion and gender-affirming care for service members and their families, which were ultimately rejected from the final agreement.