The Biden campaign on Wednesday railed against a Louisiana bill that would reclassify two abortion drugs as “controlled dangerous substances.”

The measure cleared the state’s House on Tuesday by a 64-29 vote. Because it was amended, the Senate must approve it again before it can be sent to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to be signed.

The bill, introduced by Republican Sen. Thomas Pressly, aims to criminalize someone slipping an abortion-inducing drug to an unsuspecting pregnant woman. Pressly said he proposed the legislation after his sister was given abortion drugs by her then-husband without her knowledge.

Pressly amended the bill to reclassify the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled substances, which would put them in the same category as opioids, depressants and other drugs deemed highly addictive. 

In the legislation passes, anyone in possession of the abortion drugs without a prescription could be sentenced to one to five years in prison. The bill exempts pregnant women who have the drugs for their own consumption from being prosecuted.

Louisiana already has a near-total abortion ban, with exceptions made only to save the mother’s life or prevent “serious risk” to her health or when the fetus is not expected to survive the pregnancy.

In a call with reporters, the Biden campaign argued the legislation would have a “chilling effect” on using the drugs for reasons other than abortion, including to stop bleeding after miscarriage and postpartum hemorrhaging.

Misoprostol also can be used to prevent gastrointestinal ulcers and to aid in labor and delivery, more than 240 OB/GYN doctors noted in a letter earlier this month in which they asked Pressly to reconsider his amendments.

“This bill would make it incredibly difficult to obtain and use these drugs for those medically necessary purposes,” said Ellie Schilling, an attorney and reproductive health legal expert, who participated in the Biden campaign call. “In fact, it could create deadly delays in emergency situations.”

Schilling said she is also concerned that reclassifying mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances would make them subject to tracking, creating a database in which the government could monitor women and their pregnancies.  

Mitch Landrieu, co-chair of the Biden campaign, said he believes the intent of the bill “is to stop women's reproductive health and to take the choice away from them and … completely impinge on their privacy.”

Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge, who was also on the call, said she knows first-hand how difficult it already is to receive mifepristone and misoprostol in Louisiana. 

In 2022, Joshua suffered a miscarriage and said, because of the state’s abortion ban, doctors at two different hospitals refused to give her the medication despite that she lost a significant amount of blood. She was sent home, where “it took me weeks to pass my pregnancy at home, and I was absolutely terrified,” she said.

The Biden campaign sought to blame former President Donald Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade two years ago, for paving the path to the Louisiana bill. 

“Should not be happening in America, but it's happening because of one thing — Donald Trump,” Landrieu said. “If Trump returns to the White House, he's going to make things even worse. He has made that crystal clear.”

Landrieu noted that, in an interview with a Pittsburgh TV station Tuesday, Trump said  he was “looking at” restrictions to birth control, a comment the former president and his campaign later walked back. Landrieu also pointed to past Trump comments that there should be punishment for women who have abortions.

“Louisiana is just one example of this dystopian agenda that Trump and his allies are pushing,” Landrieu said. “It's a far cry from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who believe in women, who are standing up for women's fundamental freedoms and leading a whole-of-government effort to protect and strengthen access to reproductive health care.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment about the Louisiana bill and the Biden campaign’s remarks Wednesday. When asked abortion-related questions in recent weeks, Trump has avoided weighing in, other than to say those matters are now up to each state.

Anti-abortion advocates have defended the Louisiana law by arguing doctors and pharmacists would still be able to legally administer and dispense mifepristone or misoprostol for uses other than abortion and noting that many Schedule IV substances, such as opioids and antidepressants, continue to be prescribed for legitimate health reasons. 

They have accused critics and some media outlets of misrepresenting the legislation. 

“[T]he abortion regimen needs to included in the Controlled Substance List because there is evidence that shows minors, abuse victims, and predators of any kind can currently buy abortion pills online, on the streets, or in bulk,” Sarah Zagorski, spokeswoman for the group Louisiana Right to Life, said in a statement.

After Vice President Kamala Harris posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, that it was “Absolutely unconscionable” the Louisiana House passed legislation that would criminalize the possession of abortion drugs, Pressly responded by saying, “what’s unconscionable is blatantly lying about my bill.”

He stressed that the legislation targets people without a prescription to prevent pregnant women being slipped the drugs without their consent. He called that “a big omission” by Harris.