Louisiana
Texas follows Louisiana’s lead to reclassify reproductive care drugs as controlled substances • Louisiana Illuminator
A Texas lawmaker has filed a bill that would reclassify two drugs used for reproductive health as controlled substances, which would place further restrictions on their access.
The proposal mirrors a law in Louisiana that went into effect Oct. 1 that treats mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances in state law. While the drugs are used in medication abortions, they have other applications such as treating life-threatening hemorrhaging.
Texas state Rep.-elect Pat Curry, a Republican from Austin, has filed legislation, House Bill 1339, that is comparable to the Louisiana law. Some health care providers have criticized Louisiana’s measure over its stricter storage and documentation requirements. Physicians have said the additional steps could place patients’ lives at risk.
Both Louisiana and Texas have strict abortion bans in place. Both states bar the procedure in almost all instances.
The Texas Legislature convenes for its next lawmaking session Jan. 14.
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the new law, Act 246, in May, despite 270 doctors signing a letter against it. Mifepristone and misoprostol have been pulled off obstetric hemorrhage carts in hospitals and are now stored in passcode-protected cabinets outside of labor and delivery rooms.
Misoprostol is a pill often used to help prevent and treat post-delivery bleeding, especially for patients with hypertension or asthma who might have adverse side effects from using other hemorrhage medications usually administered with hypodermic needles or through an IV.
Doctors and pharmacists in Louisiana have scrambled to come up with postpartum hemorrhage protocols that comply with the law while still providing fast, life-saving care for women.
LCMC Health and Ochsner Health System, which own and operate hospitals throughout Louisiana, keep the drug in a large passcode-protected storage locker on their maternity units. The state health department released guidelines suggesting hospitals modify their obstetric hemorrhage carts to add a locked compartment, but care providers at hospitals have said this isn’t a feasible option.
Louisiana rural hospitals, which have limited resources compared to Ochsner and LCMC Health, expected to see the biggest impact from the law. With fewer pharmacists and OB-GYNs on staff, critics of the new law fear delays will be compounded in such areas.
Reproductive health activists and doctors have warned that the Louisiana law could set a new precedent for how other states will treat mifepristone and misoprostol. Congressional Democrats released a report last month calling the law “anti-science.”
The Louisiana law was authored by state Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, who added the drug reclassifications as amendments to his bill that originally created the crime of coerced abortion. He wrote the bill after his pregnant sister, Catherine Herring of Houston, was given an abortion drug by her then-husband without her knowledge.
Herring’s daughter was born 10 weeks premature, and her ex-spouse, Mason Herring, pleaded guilty to endangering a child and assault against a pregnant person. He was sentenced to 180 days, a punishment Pressly and his sister thought was too light.
“I commend the Texas Legislature for introducing legislation to address the weaponization of abortion drugs,” Pressly said in a text message Thursday evening. “The reclassification of misoprostol and mifepristone as scheduled drugs enables healthcare providers to continue to prescribe them for legitimate healthcare purposes while limiting the ability of bad actors to obtain them.”
“My sister and nieces’s story is a prime example of why the reclassification is necessary and appropriate,” the senator added.
The Texas bill is specifically about rescheduling the drug, and is not connected to a criminal coerced abortion law. If approved, it would take effect Sept. 1, 2025. It also adds carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant, to the Schedule IV controlled substances list for the state.
Last month, Louisiana health care providers and advocates filed a lawsuit that claims Act 246 violates the state constitution. The plaintiffs argue it discriminates against people based on a physical condition. They also believe state lawmakers approved a bill that strayed too far from its original version, which Article III of the Louisiana Constitution forbids.
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NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana State Police issued a Silver Alert Friday for a 76-year-old New Orleans man who has been missing since Wednesday.
Elbert Welch was last seen in the 1700 block of Holiday Drive on May 6 at approximately 11 a.m. State police received the request to issue a Silver Alert at approximately 6:54 p.m. Friday on behalf of the New Orleans Police Department.
Welch is a white male with brown eyes and black and gray hair. He is 5′10″ and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a khaki shirt, black pants and a blue baseball cap.
Family reports that Welch has a medical condition that may impair his judgment.
Welch is believed to be walking on foot in an unknown direction.
Anyone with information regarding Welch’s whereabouts is asked to immediately contact the New Orleans Police Department, 4th District, at (504) 821-2222 or dial 911. All questions should be directed to the New Orleans Police Department.
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Watch UL Diamond sports HCs talk wins and losses vs Troy, Coastal Carolina
Hear from UL softball and baseball HCs, Matt Deggs and Alyson Habetz following SBC play where Cajuns softball swept Coastal Carolina and baseball loss 2-1 to Troy.
Pressure is back on for Louisiana baseball, especially on the weekend in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (30-19, 12-12) dropped their final midweek game of the season, losing 9-6 to the University of New Orleans in extra innings. Now, the Cajuns are back on the road for SBC play, needing every win they can get to better their chances of snagging a regional spot. They travel to Appalachian State for what will likely be a chilly three-game series against the Mountaineers.
Seventh-year head coach Matt Deggs will go with junior Cody Brasch to start Game 1, a spot the right-hander is becoming accustomed to. Saturday’s are for Andrew Herrmann, the most reliable of the Cajuns’ arms through the year. App State will start junior righty Nick DiRito on Friday, followed by junior righty Gage Peterson and junior lefty Tanner Nolan to close out the series.
Here’s how to watch Ragin’ Cajuns baseball in its SBC series vs App State (28-18, 15-9), including time, TV schedule, live score and streaming information.
Watch Louisiana baseball vs App State on ESPN+
Louisiana baseball vs App State live score
What channel is Louisiana baseball vs App State on?
TV: None
Livestream: ESPN+
Radio: Varsity Network, 96.5 FM
Louisiana vs. App State will be available live on ESPN+ streaming service for the teams’ ninth SBC series of the 2026 college baseball season. Matt Present will provide commentary from Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
What time does Louisiana baseball play App State today?
- 5 p.m. Friday, May 8
- 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9
- 12 p.m. Sunday, May 10
The Louisiana vs. App State series starts at 5 p.m. Friday at Beaver Field in Boone, N.C., followed by Game 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Cajuns will close out the series at noon on Sunday.
Louisiana baseball vs App State weather update
Friday’s matchup will be played in semi-cloudy weather with sunshine throughout the day. It’ll be a high of 62 degrees and a low of 44 degrees. Winds will get up to about five to 10 mph, and there is less than a 7% chance of rain in the afternoon. Saturday’s game will be played in warmer weather with a high of 67 degrees, followed by Sunday’s high of 73 degrees.
Louisiana baseball vs App State history
Series record: Louisiana leads 14-9
In Lafayette: Series tied 6-6
In Boone: Louisiana leads 6-3
Louisiana’s last win: April 2, 2023 (6-0)
App State’s last win: April 1, 2023 (8-5)
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.
Louisiana
Behind the Curtain: How Louisiana’s Parole System and Courts Shape Who Goes Free | The Lens
This week on Behind The Lens, the public gets a rare look inside one of the most powerful and least understood parts of Louisiana’s criminal justice system: the parole process.
In Louisiana, Parole Board hearings are sometimes held in public, offering families, victims, attorneys, advocates, and reporters an opportunity to witness how decisions are made about who is granted freedom and who remains incarcerated. But those hearings reveal more than individual cases. They expose the broader tensions shaping punishment, rehabilitation, public safety, and political pressure across the state.
Reporters Bernard Smith and Gus Bennett join editor Katy Reckdahl to examine how parole decisions are influenced not only by testimony inside the hearing room, but also by a growing wave of legal and political changes moving through Louisiana’s courts and legislature. From rulings connected to the Louisiana Supreme Court to election season politics and criminal justice reforms, the episode explores how policy decisions made at the highest levels can directly affect incarcerated people, victims’ families, prosecutors, and entire communities.
The discussion also breaks down how recent state actions involving sentencing, parole eligibility, election dynamics, and judicial oversight are reshaping Louisiana’s criminal justice landscape in real time. Together, the team examines the human consequences behind those decisions and what they reveal about accountability, power, and transparency inside the system.
Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music “Fading Prospects” by Podington Bear (soundofpicture.com)
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