Florida Nixes Fluoride, Missouri Might Nix Abortion

Florida becomes the second state to ban fluoride in drinking water. Missouri lawmakers look to reverse abortion access voters approved last year. Vermont pauses electric vehicle rules. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ponders scaling back health care for immigrants lacking legal status.

As we’ve mentioned here previously, Decision Points primarily focuses on national and international news. But while it’s been a bit since our last one, we also like to deliver a roundup of local or regional news with a political dimension – something unusual or interesting, or that may illustrate a broader trend.

Our guiding principle is that part of the definition of politics is how a society organizes itself to allocate finite or scarce resources, manage internal disagreements and blunt external threats.

Here’s today’s look at more local scenes.

Florida Man Bans Fluoride in Drinking Water

No, the law GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed doesn’t use the word “fluoride,” but come July 1, Florida will ban the use of certain “additives” in the public water supply, and defines them in such a way that it will effectively ban that mineral.

Florida thus becomes the second state after Utah to ban fluoride, which has been added to drinking water in the United States for decades in order to promote oral health – notably to fight tooth decay and cavities.