| On Friday, the Louisiana Department of Health released guidance for hospitals that misoprostol can be included in obstetric hemorrhage carts in accordance with a hospital’s current policies and procedures.
Physicians will continue to have access to misoprostol in medical situations, including but not limited to miscarriage management, induction of labor, management of postpartum hemorrhage, stomach ulcers, and more. Per the guidance, hospitals do not need to remove misoprostol from hemorrhage carts, or hesitate to administer misoprostol to patients experiencing health emergencies.
Lafayette OBGYN Dr. John Voltz, who delivers well over 200 babies a year, stated:
“My primary concern as a physician is always the health and safety of my patients. The Department of Health has made it clear that Misoprostol can be included on a hemorrhage cart with other medications commonly utilized for postpartum hemorrhage. I am confident that I can continue to care for my patients under Act 246 without hesitation in emergency situations.”
The purpose of the Abortion by Fraud Criminalization ACT 246, which goes into effect October 1, is to stop nefarious individuals from coercing or forcing women and young girls into an abortion, as evident in the heartbreaking story of Senator Thomas Pressly’s sister, Catherine Herring.
Herring is only one of many women that have experienced abortion coercion. To view Louisiana Right to Life’s full investigative report on the abuse of abortion pills in Louisiana, utilize this link.
Dr. Amber Shemwell, a Monroe OBGYN, shared the following in May:
“From my experience in Northeast Louisiana, medications such as mifepristone and misoprostol are recklessly available online and on the street without a prescription or a physician’s exam. Without proper physician screening for ectopic and molar pregnancies, these medications have the potential to be dangerous. For these reasons, I support categorizing both of these medications as controlled substances. Physicians commonly use controlled substances, and I’m confident that my care for women will not be harmed by this legislation, even as it applies to the appropriate use of misoprostol in my practice”.
The use of mifepristone and misoprostol for elective abortion has been prohibited in Louisiana since 2022. However, these two drugs can be used for the treatment of other healthcare conditions with a valid prescription referencing appropriate diagnostic codes. This has been the case since 2022 and will continue to be the case when Act 246 goes into effect on October 1, 2024.
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Louisiana Right to Life (LARTL), established in 1970, works through education, legislation, inspiration and service to restore the right to life in Louisiana by opposing abortion, euthanasia, and other life destroying actions. |
