On Oct. 1, a Louisiana law declared reproductive care drugs Misoprostol and Mifepristone as controlled substances. These drugs are used to end pregnancies, manage miscarriages, and treat hemorrhage. 

Lillian Funke is a professor in practice at the College of Nursing and Health. According to Funke, the new classification will make these drugs more complicated to access. Funke said Mifepristone is more difficult to obtain and less commonly prescribed, so Misoprostol is the main target of the law. 

Misoprostol, originally for stomach ulcers, can help cause contractions in the uterine muscle. It can be used for preparing to have an intrauterine device inserted, postpartum hemorrhage, inducing labor, and treating miscarriages. According to Funke, it’s inexpensive, which she said is a good thing.

Funke said these medications do not have the same capacity for chemical dependence that typical controlled substances would.

“Neither of these substances have pharmacologically that potential,” she said.

To prescribe a controlled substance, doctors must register with the Drug Enforcement Association. 

“For the Loyola community, we have a nursing school, and we have advanced practice nurses,” Funke said. “Now, [Advanced Practice Nurses] of all stripes can obtain a DEA number, but it requires more collaboration with a physician and a separate agreement with the board of pharmacy, so it is a cumbersome paperwork process.” 

Funke said this process is expensive, which could limit people from accessing this drug. There will also be more waste created because the drug can’t be put back on the shelf, she said.

“The impact in smaller hospitals, stand-alone emergency rooms, and community health centers will have bigger implications,” Funke said. “In a bigger hospital, the resources are greater, and the workarounds are simpler.”

Funke said this scheduling act is unusual for the DEA.

“Make no mistake, scheduling this medication is not consistent with what scheduling has meant previously. Just from a pure pharmacological standpoint, it does not line up,” she said.

Funke believes the scheduling act and its implications should be evaluated.

“This is an interesting case of using a set of regulations that were created for one purpose for an unrelated purpose,” she said, “And it is important to consider not just the immediate impacts but also whether or not this law was passed to protect people, and if so, how does it do that?”