Social Services
After overturning Roe, what’s next for anti-abortion groups?
After 50 years of organizing from the bottom to the top of the ballot to put their preferred candidates in office, America’s anti-abortion movement has become the dog that caught the car: Roe v. Wade has been overturned. While anti-abortion groups rejoiced at the news of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, allowing abortion bans in […]
Adopted people in Louisiana will soon have access to birth certificates
Adopted people born in Louisiana will soon be able to obtain copies of their original birth certificates when they reach age 24 thanks to new legislation Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law. House Bill 450, sponsored by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, received overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of the Legislature, though Owen […]
Legislature passes bill to let adoptees access birth certificates
The Louisiana Legislature passed a bill Sunday that would allow adopted people to obtain copies of their original birth certificates when they reach age 24. House Bill 450, sponsored by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, received final passage with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers, though some lawmakers have called it the most difficult piece of […]
Louisiana Legislature creates Office of Women’s Health
An effort to address health disparities among women in Louisiana was pulled into the debate over whether transgender people should be granted access to medical care. Senate Bill 116, by Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, creates an Office of Women’s Health within the Louisiana Department of Health. It would be “responsible for leading and coordinating […]
Louisiana lawmakers want to know why there are more people without housing
Lawmakers may soon get a more comprehensive look at the rise in people without roofs over their heads in Louisiana. House Resolution 194, authored by Jason Hughes, D-New Orleans, asks the Louisiana Housing Corp., the state’s public housing agency, to look into “the lack of affordable housing and to identify potential funding sources to address […]
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 […]
If Louisiana bans abortion, will the state spend more money on pregnant people, children?
Anti-abortion Republican lawmakers who oversee the budget process in the Louisiana Legislature offered little to no insight on whether more money would be made available for increased maternal health and child care.
Louisiana lawmakers target adoption scammers
Louisiana lawmakers want to deter anyone who would cheat adoptive parents out of money under the guise of giving up a child, but some are concerned the penalties might lead to birth mothers being arrested for changing their mind. After lengthy debate Monday, a bill was approved to expand what qualifies as adoption deception, a […]
Louisiana adoptees closer to accessing original birth certificates
The Louisiana House of Representatives approved a bill Monday that would allow adopted people to obtain copies of their original birth certificates when they reach age 24. House Bill 450, filed by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, cleared the House in a 76-21 vote after debate on the floor stretched from Monday afternoon into evening. It […]
Anti-abortion group opposes giving adopted people access to birth certificates
A committee of Louisiana lawmakers will take another week to decide whether to advance a bill that would allow adopted people to obtain copies of their original birth certificates once they reach age 24. State law currently provides adopted individuals only limited access to the information from their birth records, mostly connected to vital health […]
People adopted in Louisiana could get access to their birth certificates
A Louisiana lawmaker has proposed legislation that would allow adopted people to obtain copies of their original birth certificates once they reach age 24. It would follow a nationwide trend to reform decades of secrecy surrounding adoption records. House Bill 450, filed by Rep. Charles Owen, a Republican from the Fort Polk-area town of Rosepine, […]
Houma lawmaker proposes SNAP benefit cuts to fill labor shortages
A Louisiana lawmaker has introduced a bill that could limit free food assistance for certain people without jobs in an effort to curtail the state’s labor shortage. Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, has filed House Bill 396, which would tighten work requirements for some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. SNAP is a federal benefit available […]