A Louisiana House committee shelved a bill Wednesday (May 7) that would have made it illegal for someone to “intentionally” expose another person to an “incurable” sexually transmitted disease after steep concerns that criminalization could worsen the state’s proliferating STD rates.

Louisiana’s deadly whooping cough outbreak continues to surge, and it’s doing the most harm to children under the age of 1.

The most debated parts of the bill were the school meal restrictions and proposed limits on SNAP, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Nurses cited slow negotiations as the reason for their third strike in seven months.

Insurance reform continues to be a top priority at the State Capitol. During the last regular session, lawmakers passed bills insurance carriers said would make the state more business-friendly and lead to lower rates. But House Insurance Committee member Rep. Matthew Willard (D-New Orleans), says what they’ve done in the past hasn’t worked.

Products inside are free and include condoms and emergency contraception.

Organizations working to combat HIV in Louisiana are bracing for potential funding cuts and warning of a possible resurgence of the virus, after the Trump administration eliminated staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office for HIV prevention.

Blue Cross Louisiana OK’d mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay a hospital’s full bills. For some claims, it paid nothing.

Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed Bruce Greenstein, the health secretary under former Gov. Bobby Jindal, to help lead Louisiana’s Department of Health.

Louisiana’s Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham confirmed Thursday that two infants have died in the last six months amid an ongoing whooping cough outbreak in the state, and said vaccines are the best way to protect against infections.