Vice President Kamala Harris blasted the bill’s approval by lawmakers in the southern US state of Louisiana on Tuesday, calling it “unconscionable” and making carrying abortion medication illegal.
Two different kinds of medications would become restricted substances under the law, which still needs to pass the state senate, during a heated discussion about abortion rights leading up to November’s presidential election.
Misoprostol and mifepristone, which are frequently used in abortions, would be included on Louisiana’s Schedule IV, the same as Xanax and Valium.
Possession of the medication without a prescription would be punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to a text of the bill.
Authorized medical practitioners would be exempt, as would pregnant women if they had the medication for their own use.
Democrats believe hardline pro-abortion measures play against the Republicans electorally, and thus they have made it one of their key campaign issues.
“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,” Harris wrote on X on Tuesday.
“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump did this,” added Harris, who has previously criticized Trump for boasting of his role in reversing Roe v Wade, the federal guarantee of abortion rights that the Supreme Court overturned in 2022.
With very few exceptions for situations involving the mother’s life in danger or fetuses with life-threatening defects, abortion is illegal in Louisiana.
A lady who was denied healthcare after miscarrying in Louisiana and a reproductive health legal expert will speak at a virtual press conference on the Louisiana bill on Wednesday morning, according to President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.
Within a week of the interview, Trump promised Time magazine in April that he would disclose his “pretty strong views” on women’s access to mifepristone. However, he never followed through on this promise.
Regarding abortion, the Republican contender has sent conflicting messages. He stated in March that he would support a national ban at 15 or 16 weeks of pregnancy, but he later changed his mind and said the states should make these decisions.
