Two Louisiana lawmakers have pre-filed a bill for consideration during the next legislative session that would remove fluoride from drinking water in Louisiana. Sen. Mike Fesi, who represents Houma, and Sen. Patrick McMath, who represents the Northshore, pre-filed the bill jointly. A nationwide push to flush fluoride from drinking water is trickling its way into Louisiana. "We are medicating our state's drinking water," McMath said.Fluoride is added in small amounts to drinking water to help prevent tooth decay, but McMath sees the mineral as medicine and believes that method doesn't take into account people's individual health outcomes and needs. "When you're talking about it in terms of a medication, we are denying the principals of informed consent," McMath said.This comes after concerns of fluoride causing health problems such as neurological disorders, arthritis, and bone cancer arose during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign in 2024.Kennedy said the Trump administration is pushing for fluoride to be removed from all United States drinking water systems.States including Florida, North Carolina and Texas have made strides to remove the fluoride from its systems, but according to New Orleans Dr. Courtney Washington that's taking a step backward. "Fluoridation of water was quoted as one of the greatest public health achievements because it had great impacts for preventing cavities especially in our younger children," Washington said.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2022, Louisiana ranked 46 out of 50 for the consumption of fluoridated water, and that low ranking showed only 37.9% of people across the state received it."We're talking about, literally, a drop of sodium fluoride in a liter a water," Washington said.The city of New Orleans' top medical expert, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, said there are benefits to fluoride in water, and in the city, it's routinely tested to ensure it follows federal guidelines."The last report I found in 2023 I think, it was about 0.65. Again, the recommended level is point 0.7," Avegno said.While the practice of fluoridated water has been flowing for decades, it now has lawmakers and medical experts on different sides. "I think that our residents will understand why this is a net benefit," Avegno said."Louisiana doesn't need to follow. We need to lead when it comes to our individual health," McMath said. According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Health, fluoride in water has been widely debated for years, but studies finding adverse health effects have been poor in quality. If the bill becomes law, fluoride would be removed from all Louisiana drinking water systems serving more than 5,000 people. Louisiana's regular legislative session begins April 14 at noon. You can read the bill here.