Ignoring the pleas of nearly 300 doctors and other healthcare professionals, the Republican-controlled Lousiana state House on Tuesday was poised to vote on a bill that would reclassify two drugs used in medication abortions as “controlled dangerous substances” — and potentially limiting healthcare providers’ access to the frequently prescribed pills.

Senate Bill 276, originally proposed by state Sen. Thomas Pressly (R-38), centers on making it a crime in the state to use the pills to induce an abortion “on an unsuspecting pregnant mother without her knowledge or consent,” but after its passage in the Senate, Pressly added amendments to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol.

Under the legislation, a person found with the pills without a prescription could be convicted of a felony, punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

Healthcare workers across Louisiana have called on Pressly to reconsider his amendments, which were co-written by the powerful pro-forced pregnancy group Louisiana Right to Life, and have warned they could dangerously delay or eliminate care for other health conditions for which the medications are prescribed.

“Mischaracterizing misoprostol, a drug routinely and safely used on labor units throughout the state, as a dangerous drug of abuse creates confusion and........

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