CNN’s Brianna Keilar Confronts GOP Lawmaker Sponsoring Bill to Restrict Abortion Pills About His State’s High Maternal Mortality

CNN’s Brianna Keilar confronted Louisiana State Sen. Thomas Pressly (R) about his state’s high maternal mortality rate as lawmakers there consider criminalizing the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.

Pressly sponsored a bill that would categorize the drugs as Schedule IV controlled substances requiring a prescription from a specially-licensed practitioner.

Keller noted that the drugs are also used to treat miscarriage, stop obstetric hemorrhaging, and to prepare women for uterine procedures.

As Pressly explained that abortion is “already illegal in Louisiana,” Keilar asked, “So, why make it a Schedule IV then?”

“Because we want to make sure that physicians and nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants have the ability to prescribe the medication,” Pressly said, continuing:

PRESSLY: But even in states where abortion is not illegal, you have a 10-week period where it’s not supposed to be written without seeing a doctor at all after 10 weeks of gestation. And we’ve got to make sure that women are being cared for and checked for ectopic pregnancies, as well. And I think that’s important to, again, make sure that we were maintaining the doctor-patient relationship rather than having a friend or someone bringing medication into the state. That is concerning in and of itself, and some of that was illegal prior to this legislation passing and hopefully being signed into law shortly. Prescription medication requires a prescription by a doctor or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

KEILAR: Yeah, all things that, all laws that were already in place, right? And the Schedule IV is not something you initially had in there. But, let me ask you this: you talk about the importance of caring for women. Your state is 46th out of 50 for maternal expectancy. So, when you’re talking about there being better care for women, I mean, why aren’t you tackling that instead?

PRESSLY: We are continuing to do as much as we can on pushing maternal healthcare into the forefront and make sure we’re doing everything possible to — within our budgetary means — to make sure babies are being born. But, let’s be clear —

KEILAR: I’m talking about mothers.

PRESSLY: And mothers as well.

Pressly’s bill passed Louisiana’s GOP-controlled House by a vote of 66-30. Abortion has been illegal in Louisiana since 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion decision, Roe vs. Wade.

Watch the clip above via CNN.