Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, signed into law on Tuesday a bill making the mailing of abortion pills a crime.
The bill, according to Axios, would make “delivering, dispensing, distributing, or providing a pregnant woman with an abortion-inducing drug” a crime and would require patients to take the pills in person, despite federal guidance saying it is safe to take the medications via telemedicine.
If a person violates the law, they will be subject to a $1,000 fine and a maximum of six months in prison. The bill does, however, explicitly maintain it would not ban the use of contraceptive methods, such as Plan B and other types of emergency contraceptives.
The bill goes into effect on Aug. 1.
Louisiana is one of only 13 states holding “trigger” laws banning abortions that would go into immediate effect should the Supreme Court overturn its precedents on Roe v. Wade.
On Tuesday, Edwards also signed a bill strengthening the state’s “trigger” law, making providing an abortion a punishable offense with up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine topping $100,000 provided that Roe is overturned.
Via Newsmax