Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry addresses members of the House and Senate on opening day of a legislative special session, Feb. 19, 2024, in the House Chamber at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Landry has signed a first-of-its-kind bill …NEW ORLEANS —
The Republican governor announced his signing of the bill in Baton Rouge a day after it gained final legislative passage in the state Senate. Opponents of the measure included many physicians who said the drugs have other critical reproductive health care uses, and that changing the classification could make it harder to prescribe the drugs.
Supporters of the bill, which affects the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, said it would protect expectant mothers from coerced abortions, though they cited only one example of that happening, in the state of Texas.