At. The health care provider filed a lawsuit against the state

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Last month, the state made history by becoming the only state in the country to reclassify commonly used abortion drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances.

Now, medical professionals and reproductive health advocates are questioning whether this was the right decision for patients.

The two drugs, Mifepristone and Misoprostol have been hotly debated over the past year or so.

Governor Jeff Landry signed it Senate Bill 276 in the law, which reclassified Mifepristone and Misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances in the state of Louisiana.

That decision has drawn a lot of pushback from medical professionals and reproductive advocates, who have concerns about how it will affect patient care because the drugs have other uses.

While the law took effect October 1, the fight is not over.

On Thursday night, Lift Louisiana, a New Orleans-based reproductive rights organization announced a lawsuit was filed against the state of Louisiana, Attorney General Liz Murrill, the state board of pharmacy, and the board of medical examiners challenging ACT 246.

The costume states that ACT 246, “An Act that delays access to life-saving treatment for people experiencing obstetric emergencies and makes it significantly more difficult for people with a wide range of physical conditions to obtain proven and effective remedies necessary for their treatment and care.”

While the lawsuit points out that ACT 246 targets the two drugs because they are used to induce abortions, it goes on to say that it will have little or no impact on abortion access, given that Louisiana already prohibits abortion in almost all circumstances.

The lawsuit says, “This case is about the unconstitutional regulation of drugs that people need for non-abortion reasons simply because those drugs can also be used for abortion.”

Mifepristone and Misoprostol can be used to treat postpartum hemorrhage, miscarriage, uterine fibroids, ovarian cancer, and several other medical conditions.

“We will not stand by while anti-abortion lawmakers force people in our state to have pregnancies against their will and then make those pregnancies more dangerous,” said Lift Louisiana Executive Director Michelle Erenberg.

Birthmark doula collective, New Orleans-based family physician Dr. Emily Holt, Shreveport pharmacist Kaylee Self, are supporting Nancy Davis and Kaitlyn Joshua as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

However, they are represented by breeder organizations, including the Lawyering Project, Lift Louisiana, and the litigation firm Schonekas, Evans, McGoey & McEachin, LLC.

“Classifying Mifepristone and Misoprostol – both of which are safe and have no risk of abuse or addiction – as dangerous substances contributes to the criminalization of already marginalized communities,” said Jamila Johnson, senior counsel at the reproductive rights organization The Lawyering Project.

I contacted Attorney General Liz Murrill.

“We can’t respond to a lawsuit we haven’t seen, but I’m confident this law is constitutional. We will vigorously defend it,” she said.