Louisiana
New lawsuit challenges Louisiana's classification of abortion pills as 'controlled substances'
The Summary
- A new lawsuit challenges Louisiana’s classification of abortion medications as controlled dangerous substances.
- The suit alleges that the law creates barriers for health care workers who need to administer the pills — which have other uses besides abortions — quickly in an emergency.
- Louisiana bans most abortions, with limited exceptions.
A group of Louisiana health care providers and reproductive rights advocates are suing the state over a new law that classifies abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances.
The law went into effect a month ago and puts mifepristone and misoprostol — the two pills involved in a medication abortion — on Louisiana’s list of “Schedule IV” drugs. The category also includes certain stimulants, sedatives and opioids.
It’s the first time a state has classified abortion pills as controlled substances.
In Louisiana, abortion is largely banned, so the law has not had a major impact on abortion access. However, abortions are allowed in some exceptional circumstances, and doctors often prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol off-label to manage a miscarriage. Misoprostol on its own is approved, as well, to prevent stomach ulcers.
In Louisiana, classifying the medications as Schedule IV drugs means that doctors must have a special license to prescribe them and hospitals are required to store the pills in a secure location, according to Allison Zimmer, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. Anyone who possesses the medications without a prescription could face a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years in jail. (The law includes a broad exception, however, for pregnant women who possess the medications for their own consumption.)
The new lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges that the law could create barriers for health care workers who need to administer mifepristone and misoprostol quickly in an emergency, thereby delaying patients’ access to the pills and creating a risk of harm. The complaint also says the law discriminates against people who need the medications, since patients with similarly severe medical needs aren’t subject to the same delays if they need other drugs. It seeks to prevent the law from being enforced.
“What it will do is just make it more dangerous to be pregnant or to have a variety of physical conditions,” Zimmer said.
The plaintiffs include a doctor, pharmacist, two reproductive rights advocates and the Birthmark Doula Collective — a doula practice that advocates for pregnant people in Louisiana. It names the state, the attorney general, the board of pharmacy and the board of medical examiners as defendants.
“The law is supposed to prevent misuse of the medications, but the real aim is to make abortion harder to access,” said Nancy Davis, one of the two advocates who brought the suit.
According to the American College of Medical Toxicology, mifepristone and misoprostol do not meet the definition of a controlled substance. The association warned in September that labeling the pills as such was “not consistent with decades of scientific evidence” and set a dangerous precedent of “politicizing pharmaceutical regulation.”
But Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill maintained support for the law on Friday.
“I’m confident this law is constitutional. We will vigorously defend it,” Murrill said in a statement.
In Louisiana, abortions are allowed only in cases where a fetus is not expected to survive, or if ending a pregnancy could save a pregnant person’s life or prevent serious risk to their health.
Zimmer said the new classification for abortion pills is “an example of the state trying to demonstrate as much as possible that it is an anti-abortion state.”
The law came about as a response to a particular case in Texas involving Louisiana Sen. Thomas Pressly’s sister Catherine Herring, whose husband was accused of slipping abortion pills into her drinks. The baby survived, and Herring’s husband pleaded guilty to charges of injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person. The Louisiana law established a crime known as “coerced abortion” — intentionally giving a pregnant woman abortion pills without her knowledge or consent.
“Ms. Herring’s courageous testimony illustrated that easy access to these drugs can be dangerous to pregnant women and exposes women to the risks of coercion, abuse, and criminal behavior,” Murrill said in a statement.
When Pressly originally introduced the bill, it did not include a classification of abortion pills as controlled substances — that was added later as an amendment, which Pressly said at the time was another step “to control the rampant illegal distribution of abortion-inducing drugs that ended up hurting my sister.”
But the new lawsuit alleges that the amendment isn’t clearly connected to the original bill and suggests that the law should be struck down altogether. Zimmer said the amendment was added “very, very late in the legislative process, at such a late date that there wasn’t a public hearing.”
The lawsuit says that Davis and another plaintiff in the suit, Kaitlyn Joshua, did not get an opportunity to testify in front of lawmakers before the law passed.
Joshua, a 32-year-old Baton Rouge resident, said she was turned away from two emergency rooms in 2022 after she started miscarrying at around 11 weeks. She worries that the policy could lead more women in Louisiana — particularly Black women — to be denied care like she was.
“This current law I know is going to disproportionately affect women that look like me, that already live in maternal health care deserts,” Joshua said.
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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