Abortion Drug Law in Louisiana Heightens Hemorrhage Risk for Pregnant Patients

Over the past decade, Louisiana hospitals began stocking specialized carts designed to treat hemorrhages, one of the most common pregnancy complications in the state. The plug-in cart can be wheeled from room to room and holds surgical tools and lifesaving medications to stem blood loss. A state law passed in 2024 forced hospitals to remove a key drug — misoprostol — from the medical cart and keep it locked in a secure room designated for controlled substances. For physicians like New Orleans obstetrician-gynecologist Nicole Freehill, misoprostol is the go-to medication to treat hemorrhages. The drug is uniquely cheap, safe, and shelf-stable, she said. But it’s also the second in a two-pill procedure that millions of people have used to have medical abortions. Because of that use, Louisiana lawmakers reclassified misoprostol as a controlled substance, a category typically reserved for addictive drugs. Now, physicians like her have gone from reaching over to the cart to grab misoprostol to waiting at least two minutes while a nurse sprints to retrieve the medication, Freehill said. “ You could literally have someone lose, like, a liter of blood or more in that time frame,” Freehill ...