Rep. Roberts bill denotes Saturday as Menstrual Hygiene Day
- May 27, 2016
- 1 min read
State Representative Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores) introduced a House bill that passed declaring May 28 as Menstrual Hygiene Day in Michigan. It would coincide with efforts to raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene for women and adolescent girls worldwide.
“Women and girls around the world face many challenges in managing their menstrual cycle and miss out on education, work and other opportunities in life when they are unable to manage their menstruation with normalcy and dignity,” said Roberts. “Declaring a Menstrual Hygiene Day will help start an inclusive conversation with women and girls, as well as boys and men, to help create and foster a supportive environment around menstrual health.”
Additionally, Roberts introduced legislation to exempt feminine hygiene products from the sales tax (House Bill 5234), and requiring tampons and sanitary napkins to be made available free of charge in all public school bathrooms (House Bill 5426) and women’s restrooms in state-owned buildings (House Bill 5427). On average, a woman will use 17,000 feminine hygiene products during her life. Five states exempt tampons and sanitary napkins from sales taxes: Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Minnesota. Last year, Canada also eliminated what was commonly referred to as the “tampon tax.”
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