Health
Bill to give adoptees access to birth certificates advances to Senate floor
Some lawmakers call it the most difficult piece of legislation they have ever considered. A bill that would allow adopted people to obtain their original birth certificates when they reach age 24 cleared a Senate committee Tuesday but not without hours of debate. House Bill 450, filed by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, cleared the Senate […]
Baby formula industry primed for disaster long before key factory closed down
The conditions that led to a shortage of baby formula were set in motion long before the February 2022 closure of the Similac factory tipped the U.S. into a crisis. Retailers nationwide reported supplies of baby formula were out of stock at a rate of 43% during the week ended May 8, 2022, compared with […]
Proposal would shield Louisiana’s state employees who use medical marijuana
The House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations unanimously advanced a bill Thursday that would protect Louisiana’s state employees who are legally treated with medical marijuana. House Bill 988, sponsored by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, protects state employees from negative consequences if they are diagnosed with a condition for which their doctor recommends medical […]
Louisiana Legislature advances two abortion restriction bills
The House Committee on Health and Welfare Tuesday approved two anti-abortion bills in bipartisan votes. Senate Bill 342, sponsored by Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, would increase criminal penalties for abortion providers under Louisiana’s trigger laws. Louisiana is one of 13 states with trigger laws that go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe […]
Louisiana will do extra checks of nursing home evacuation sites before hurricane season
The extra check is a precautionary measure after more than 800 nursing home residents had to be rescued from an evacuation site at a Tangipahoa Parish warehouse following Hurricane Ida.
House lawmakers reject vaccine reporting requirement for coroners
Although the coronavirus has largely taken a backseat to other issues in the Louisiana Legislature’s 2022 regular session, House lawmakers on Monday entertained but ultimately rejected a proposal that opponents criticized for perpetuating disinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. House Bill 915, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, failed in a House floor […]
Bill prohibiting vaccine discrimination advances
The House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure advanced a bill Monday that would prohibit discrimination in Louisiana over vaccination or immunity status. House Bill 253, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, would amend several existing discrimination statutes, adding vaccination or immunity status as a protected class. In most statutes, protected classes include race, sex, […]
The state behind Roe’s likely demise also does the least for new parents in need
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. When it comes to reproductive care, Mississippi has a dual distinction. The state spawned the law that likely will lead to the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade. It is also […]
Abortion capacity in Colorado could expand with advanced practice clinicians, more telehealth
As Colorado abortion rights activists prepare for a potential influx of patients coming into the state following the anticipated reversal of Roe v. Wade, they are strategizing about how to increase the pool of qualified abortion providers to meet demand and not compromise the care of Colorado residents. “I don’t see any state that has […]
Lawmakers, grieving parents differ on how tough to get on fentanyl
There’s broad agreement that Louisiana’s fentanyl crisis has reached acute levels, with overdose deaths attributed to manmade opioids up 119% according to state health officials. But consensus on an approach to curb these numbers and discourage abuse of the drug remains elusive, even as state lawmakers advance a proposed law to make penalties harsher. Sen. […]
How Texas’ powerful but fractured abortion opposition helped bring down Roe v. Wade
Nearly 50 years ago, a high school freshman in Alief was in her sex education class when another student asked the teacher about abortion. It was the first time Kyleen Peloquen, then 14, had heard the word.
Louisiana House guts abortion bill that could have sent pregnant patients to prison
The Louisiana House gutted a controversial abortion bill Thursday, removing language from it that could have sent people who undergo the procedure to prison, outlawed certain forms of birth control, and criminalized parts of the in vitro fertilization process. The rewrite has stalled the legislation, because the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, is […]