Massachusetts’ Women Lawmakers Back Free Menstrual Products

If a group of Massachusetts lawmakers gets its way, state law will require free menstrual products in public schools, prisons and homeless shelters, among other places.

That is one of nearly a dozen legislative priorities outlined by the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators for the 194th Legislative Session.

The legislation, An Act to Increase Access to Menstrual Products or the "I AM" bill, "would ensure access to menstrual products, without stigma, to all menstruating individuals in all public schools, homeless shelters, prisons and county jails."

The Caucus suggests its demand is a matter of equity.

"Non-menstruating people go into a bathroom expecting their basic bodily needs to be met – this is not the case for menstruators," it said.

"No one should have to choose between food, a roof over their head, their education, and access to menstrual products. Yet every day in Massachusetts, menstruators are forced to make exactly that choice," the Caucus said.

The Caucus of Women Legislators has several other legislative priorities, including a bill to eliminate the pay disparity between human services workers employed by the state and those under contract by the state.

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The Caucus also called for the passage of legislation to reduce the incidence and death rate from pancreatic cancer, establish a perinatal behavioral healthcare workforce trust fund, and update state election law using gender-neutral language.

The Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators includes 60 bipartisan members of the Massachusetts Legislature.

The Caucus, founded in 1975, has a mission "to enhance the economic status and equality of women and to encourage and support women in all levels of government."