OPINION | It’s time for Congress to act and pass the Menstrual Equity For All Act.
It’s evident: The plight of period poverty is not only a crisis of the “developing world.” It’s also an American one.
Amid our political chaos, Russian aggression in Europe, and what seems to be the slowing spread of COVID-19, Congress passing the Menstrual Equity for All Act would give Americans one less thing to worry about.
A 2021 State of the Period Study, commissioned by PERIOD. and Thinx, revealed that “nearly a quarter of U.S. students struggle to afford menstrual products.” About 60% say “they rarely or never find free period products in school bathrooms;” that number rises with respect to public schools.
Another study, commissioned by the same groups in 2019, found that “more than 4 in 5 students (84%) in the U.S. have either missed class time or know someone who missed class time because they did not have access to period products.” This creates a distinct level of inequality in education for students who menstruate compared to those who don’t.
Serving on a progressive U.S. Senate candidate campaign, I traveled across Ohio for the past seven months. I had countless group conversations with constituents about critical, predictable issues: People cared about jobs, healthcare, and education. After these group sessions, I would often step aside and have one-on-one talks with concerned citizens. These were the most honest conversations on the campaign trail. They were where people would open up, tell me their story, and speak deeply on the issues they most cared about.
To crowds, I introduced myself as “Ameer Abdul, Director of Operations, here to do everything I can to keep this campaign moving effectively and efficiently.” But once I broke off into more intimate conversations, I’d mention that I was on leave of absence from my position as National Campaigns Manager at PERIOD. That flipped a switch for people: Hearing about my efforts to help America meet a basic need often gave them the green light to speak about more stigmatized issues. Unsurprisingly, that issue was often the lack of access to menstrual products.
“I store tampons and pads in my desk drawer in case a student needs them,” a public school teacher said. She told me that when she was a student in high school, she hid tampons in her pencil case unless a “sudden emergency” occurred, and how she sometimes unzipped the pencil case only to find that she was out of tampons.
In those situations, she often missed class as she waited in the restroom for her mother to hastily pack her things, leave work, drive across the freeway, pick up tampons, head to the school, park the car, run in, and hand her the menstrual products she needed. The school didn’t provide them. In contrast, she recognized that the toilet paper was always stocked and supplied for free. She often asked herself, “Why not tampons or pads?” Unfortunately, little has changed now that she is a working adult.
I’ve heard this story hundreds of times across the country throughout my tenure at PERIOD. During my conversation with this teacher, I underscored a truth she knew much better than I ever would: Our elected officials have failed her and every other person who menstruates by not addressing her basic biological need.
The Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2017 introduced the first-ever federal legislation on the issue of period poverty. New York U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng introduced the bill.
Since then, the menstrual equity movement has proliferated. Conversations about period poverty have become more common and less stigmatized. Activists and advocacy groups such as PERIOD.,Period Equity, and The Policy Project, among many others, are increasing their impact and working assiduously to end period poverty once and for all.
Most recently, Congresswoman Meng introduced the Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2021.
“Period products are necessary and essential items for anyone who menstruates, and access to these items are a health care and human right,” states Meng. She continues, “Period poverty is debilitating and demeaning, and it is inextricably linked to a swath of issues — from economic justice to education; from housing to health care.” Notably, Meng concludes, “No student should have to choose between their education and or their dignity.”
If passed, Meng’s bill would provide states with the funds to supply free menstrual products to schools, colleges, universities, incarceration facilities, and homeless assistance providers. The bill would also require Medicaid to cover the cost of menstrual products.
While the country is fortunate to have a fierce advocate in Congresswoman Meng, we have not seen significant action to end period poverty on the federal level. Year after year, a bill titled “the Menstrual Equity for All Act of “[*Insert year*”] is introduced, but Congress fails to take steps to pass it.
The failure for Congress to act on such a fundamental human right speaks loudly. Too many elected officials — predominantly but not only men–see matters that primarily affect women as a non-priority. (Ask your friends who fight for reproductive rights; they know.)
Consider this: If all men menstruated, would period poverty or reproductive rights be controversial?
The good news is that state legislatures have begun to take this seriously. States like California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, and others have either passed or introduced some form of menstrual equity legislation.
While statewide legislation is effective, it would take much longer for these policies to be passed across the country and potentially result in 50 variations. Look at the “Tampon Tax”: 23 states have exempted menstrual products from taxation while the remaining 27 states continue to tax them as luxury items.
Federal legislation would solve this crisis and fast-track a solution at a time when families are still recovering from the financial impacts of COVID-19.
Youth activists and advocates across the country are leading this movement. Despite Congress's failure to deliver, they are organizing and founding organizations to combat period poverty. And despite schools failing to provide menstrual products in restrooms, young people are continuing to organize and lobby school administrators to implement menstrual equity. While legislators ignore them for being “too young to be in politics,” they are organizing and holding rallies to pressure lawmakers into introducing menstrual equity legislation in all 50 states.
The menstrual equity community is outraged by the lack of federal action being taken on this issue, and rightfully so. At PERIOD. we are harnessing that passion and outrage to create real solutions for this crisis. We do this by developing and supporting coalitions, training youth organizers to become influential change-makers and community leaders, working with legislators to further menstrual equity policy, creating educational content, and donating millions of menstrual products across the country.
Though this work is momentous, we understand that it is a transitional measure that must be paired with permanent, enforced legislative solutions to end period poverty in our lifetime.
Now is the time for Congress to deliver equitable assistance to people in need and pass The Menstrual Equity For All Act. Over half of our population menstruates, and they deserve equitable and affordable access to these essential goods.
