Doctors grapple with how to save women’s lives amid ‘confusion and angst’ over new Louisiana law. A lifesaving drug used to stop postpartum hemorrhaging will be pulled off emergency response carts once it becomes a ‘controlled dangerous substance.’

> When a woman starts bleeding out after labor, every second matters. But soon, under a new state law, Louisiana doctors might not be able to quickly access one of the most widely used life-saving medications for postpartum hemorrhage.

> *The Louisiana Illuminator* spoke with several doctors across the state that voiced extreme concern about how the rescheduling of misoprostol as a controlled dangerous substance will impact inpatient care at hospitals. Misoprostol is prescribed in a number of medical scenarios — it’s an essential part of reproductive health care that can be used during emergencies, as well as for miscarriage treatment, labor induction, or intrauterine device (IUD) insertion.

> But because it is used for abortion, misoprostol has been targeted by conservatives in Louisiana — an unprecedented move for a medication that routinely saves lives. **A controlled dangerous substance has extra barriers for access, which can delay care.**

> “My fear is that someone could eventually die,” said Dr. Tara Morse, an OB-GYN who practices at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. “And that’s not why we all went into medicine. Our goal is to prevent everything and be able to use every drug at our disposal.”

!ping FEMINISTS&MEDICINE