Good news on the womens’ health policies front, and it’s from… Texas? Did I wake up in the right year today? So the Texas that declared the FDA couldn’t authorize the abortion medication mifepristone, the Texas that banned abortion immediately after the Dobbs decision. This Texas has actually enacted a law that benefits women? Well as I live and breathe. Texas has joined the ranks of the majority of states (and the UK) to eliminate the tampon tax, with a law that went into effect in September. Some specifics on the new law and the movement behind it:
Sept. 1 marked the end of the ‘tampon tax’ in Texas: Shoppers in Texas no longer have to pay a sales tax on menstrual products, making the state one of the few in the nation to eliminate the so-called “tampon tax.” A new law that went into effect Friday eliminates the sales tax on feminine hygiene products including items like tampons, menstrual pads and menstrual cups.
Family care items are also now sales tax-free under the new law: In addition to menstrual products, the law, S.B. 379, also eliminates the sales tax on family care items including diapers, baby bottles, baby wipes, maternity clothing and breast milk pump products. The law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June, makes Texas one of nearly two dozen states that no longer charge a sales tax on diapers, according to the National Diaper Bank Network, a nonprofit organization.
The realities of period poverty are appalling: Period poverty, when people cannot afford even the most basic of period supplies like pads and tampons, is an issue that affects women around the world, including the United States. A 2019 survey of low-income women in St. Louis, Missouri, found nearly two-thirds couldn’t afford menstrual hygiene products in the past year, and more than 1 in 5 said they had the same problem every month. The women said they instead had to use cloth, rags, tissues, toilet paper and sometimes diapers or paper towels, according to the report published in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Texas Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman, sponsor of the law, speaks: “Every woman knows that these products are not optional,” Huffman said in a statement last year. “They are essential to our health and well-being and should be tax exempt.”
Let’s not praise Texas too much too soon: Texas’ law eliminating sales tax on menstrual and baby products comes as the state continues to enforce several strict abortion laws, including one prohibiting all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, except in medical emergencies, which the laws do not define. Under these bans, performing or attempting an abortion is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The law also allows private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
So my reading of this was “oh, they snuck the tampons in under the cover of diapers and baby bottles.” I’m sorry, but I just have trouble trusting Texas lawmakers these days. State Senator Joan Huffman may have sponsored this law, but take a look at her record: she’s voted in favor of schools displaying the ten commandments and requiring transgender student athletes to play against “those of their biological sex,” while voting down a 1% energy savings goal and – get ready – equal pay for women.
Cynicism aside, I’m pleased that the elimination of the tampon tax is steadily sweeping the nation. But I’m reserving full triumph until all period products are free, like Scotland made law for its citizens in November 2020. The obvious economic inequity affects all women, and in particular those who suffer period poverty and are forced to improvise in demeaning ways, all for essential healthcare needs. It’s misogyny, plain and simple.
Here are links to two sites that are great resources for more info on the movement to end period poverty.
In order to enforce the laws against abortion, they will probably start to register periods for those who have them and will know who is packing extra cells between their legs. It’s disgusting what they are doing in Texas and we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to it.
Good point. With credit card payments, online purchases, and loyalty programs, it’s pretty easy to track patterns in purchasing period products — and pregnancy tests — should any entity want to do so. That’s in addition to the information that’s already being tracked by various wellness apps.
So Texas does one right thing but it doesn’t counter all of its other evil laws with Jr DeSantis (Gov Abbott) running point. More gerrymandering and voter suppression will likely ensure more Repub regressive policies and a continued Repub state legislature. The major cities are becoming more progressive (thus the voter suppression) but the rural counties remain solidly red. At least the AG is finally facing justice. Hope his indictment and trial leads to prison.
Public bathrooms should provide free pads and tampons and so should public schools. It’s just basic decency.
We have free tampons and pads in all public college and university campus public restrooms in Illinois – since 2021.
Definitely don’t trust Texas lawmakers. I love my state but the people who run it a nutty buddy
Probably running scared about the backlash states are seeing at the polls with all those anti-abortion laws; throwing us a bone like this ain’t gonna help, but we’ll take it just the same. Should’ve happened a long time ago.
It’s going to take national voting laws and probably court intervention to get us out of the gerrymandered, suppressed voting mess we’re in now. I’m in Dallas, and we’re watching in horror at what’s being done to Houston, especially the schools. They’re trying to end public education, the state has 20+ billion dollar surplus and aren’t giving it to school districts and teachers, who desperately need it. Instead it’s being spent on that horrific drowning thing in the Rio grande.
Also I’m not convinced that Beto actually lost, or at least not the numbers of it. Paxton bragged on a podcast that he’d thrown out hundreds of thousands of mail in ballots.
There’s a woman who posts tik toks on the shit going down in the Houston public school system and I wish more people were aware. Especially people who feel safe in blue cities in red states.
If this isn’t stopped by the next election, the US will be a Christian theocracy soon.
And also off topic but I just read an article that said FL public colleges will be accepting the Classic Learning Test for admissions soon. I’m all for studying the classics with a critical eye but that’s not the intention in FL.
I’ve heard before that even if the state doesn’t tax it the local government might. We would need state and local to stop taxing pads and tampons for it to really be fully effective.
Pads and tampons should never have been taxed in the first place. They are essential for women. Also, they need to lower the damn costs. They are expensive…more than they should be.
Always remember that there are men and nonbinary people who menstruate and you don’t need to menstruate to be a woman. Language matters!
At a bare minimum, it is good that governments are starting to lessen the costs of period products. For anyone who menstruates, this is a so-called “pink tax” that you will be paying for decades. Most people who menstruate earn less money and spend more on things like menstrual products, shampoo, deodorant, the hairdresser, etc.
Specifically, there are a few options out there if you can afford them and can use them in your personal circumstances: the cup and period underwear. They cost more upfront, but can save you money down the line because they’re reusable. If you can use these products, you can cut down on pads and tampons.