§87.9. Criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs

            A. Criminal abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug is committed when a person knowingly causes an abortion to occur by means of delivering, dispensing, distributing, or providing a pregnant woman with an abortion-inducing drug.

            B.(1) Any person who knowingly performs an abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug in violation of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than one nor more than five years, fined not less than five thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars, or both.

            (2) Any person who knowingly performs an abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug in violation of this Section that results in the death or serious bodily injury of the pregnant woman shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five nor more than ten years, fined not less than ten thousand nor more than seventy-five thousand dollars, or both.

            (3) Any person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion that results in the death or serious bodily injury of a pregnant woman under the age of eighteen in violation of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than fifteen nor more than fifty years, fined not less than fifteen thousand nor more than one hundred thousand dollars, or both.

            C. None of the following shall be construed to create the crime of criminal abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug:

            (1) Any action taken when a physician or other licensed medical professional is acting in the course of administering lawful medical care.

            (2) Any act taken or omission by a pregnant woman with regard to her own unborn child.

            (3) Possessing for her own consumption or consuming an abortion-inducing drug by a pregnant woman in violation of this Section.

            (4) Lawfully prescribing, dispensing, or distributing a drug, medicine, or other substance for a bona fide medical reason that is not intended to cause an abortion in violation of this Section.

            (5)(a) The act of administering an abortion-inducing drug when the drug is administered by a physician licensed by the state of Louisiana who administers the abortion-inducing drug in person to the pregnant woman.

            (b) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall not be a defense against prosecution under any other provision of law that makes the abortion unlawful, whether the other provision of law is in effect on August 1, 2022, or becomes unlawful at a later date.

            (6) Any act by a licensed pharmacist or pharmacy related to filling a prescription for a drug, medicine, or other substance prescribed for a bona fide medical reason shall not subject the pharmacist or the pharmacy to the criminal consequences of this Section. A diagnosis or a diagnosis code shall be written on the prescription by the prescriber indicating that the drug, medicine, or other substance is intended for a purpose other than to cause an abortion in violation of this Section.

            Acts 2022, No. 548, §1.