The case against a Louisiana law that classifies common pregnancy medications as controlled dangerous substances can proceed, a Louisiana judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Jewel Welch made the ruling during a hearing in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge.
The suit was filed last October by Lift Louisiana, the Lawyering Project, and Schonekas, Evans, McGoey & McEachin, LLC on behalf of reproductive rights advocates Kaitlyn Joshua and Nancy Davis, Dr. Emily Holt, a New Orleans doctor, Shreveport pharmacist Kaylee Self, five other OB-GYNs and a certified nurse midwife. It marks a major challenge to anti-abortion legislation that has reshaped pregnancy care — including in emergencies — as politicians work to further curtail access to abortions after Louisiana’s near-total ban.
Last year, Louisiana became the first state to classify mifepristone and misoprostol – two common pregnancy medications that can also induce an abortion – as Schedule IV controlled dangerous substances. Plaintiffs have argued the law is discriminatory and unconstitutional, and puts women’s health at risk.
“Today’s ruling means our plaintiffs can continue their legal challenge against this dangerous and discriminatory law,” said Allison Zimmer, litigation counsel at the Lawyering Project, in a statement.
“The plaintiffs in this case – as well as their patients and clients – have all experienced specific and ongoing harms because of this law and we are pleased to continue this legal fight on their behalf,” Zimmer said.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has said her office would vigorously defend the law. Louisiana Right to Life has called the suit “bogus.”
"This pro-abortion lawsuit is an exploitation of the judicial system and is a disingenuous waste of taxpayer resources,” policy director Erica Inzina said in a statement after the suit was filed last year.
“While it claims to be about protecting women, it is clearly a politically-motivated effort to protect an industry that profits from these drugs being available to abusers who use violence and coercion to force abortion on women,” Inzina added.
Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office had sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the law had not harmed the plaintiffs. The judge denied the motion, ruling that the case can proceed.
