Category Archives: Women’s Health

Constitutional Court of Colombia Invalidates Tax on Menstrual Hygiene Products, Requires Bogotá to Provide Supplies for Homeless Women

Mónica Arango Olaya (DPhil Student, Oxford) has a fantastic write-up of two recent decisions by the Colombian Constitutional Court: In late 2018, the Court adopted Decision C-117 of 2018, holding that a provision imposing 5% VAT tax on tampons and … Continue reading

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Goldblatt & Steele on “Inequality Related to Menstruation”

Beth Goldblatt (University of Technology Sydney) and Linda Steele (University of Technology Sydney) have published a new article, Bloody Unfair: Inequality Related to Menstruation – Considering the Role of Discrimination Law, 41 Sydney L. Rev. 293 (2019): Drawing on growing … Continue reading

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80% of Teens Report Missing Class Time or Knowing Someone Who Has Missed Class Time Because of Lack of Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products

The results of a Harris Insights & Analytics poll of 1000 teens ages 13-19, sponsored by Thinx and PERIOD, are here. Some of the salient findings: Two-thirds of teens have felt stress due to lack of access to period products. … Continue reading

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Period Poverty in the U.S.

Amarica Rafanelli  at Direct Relief hosted a podcast on the topic here. Here’s a summary of the program, which features Jennifer Weiss-Wolf of Period Equity: Pads and tampons are a simple necessity, yet women across America are going without them. … Continue reading

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Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Health Law Opinions

Seema Mohapatra (Indiana-Indianapolis) and Lindsay Wiley (American University WCL) are the co-editors of a new volume-in-progress in the U.S. Feminist Judgments Series.  Their volume, Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Health Law Opinions, will include these cases and contributors: (1) Schloendorff v. Society … Continue reading

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Are “CupAware” Events the New Tupperware Parties? Women’s Bodies as a Source of Corporate Profit

I read with interest ‘We’re Having a Menstrual Liberation’: How Periods Got Woke, published in The Guardian (U.K.). It’s a clunky and awkward title that obscures the contents of the article.   I am sitting in a hotel meeting room with … Continue reading

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NPR’s @PlanetMoney Podcast on the #TamponTax

On March 6, 2019, NPR’s Planet Money had a show Tampons: That Bloody Sales Tax that included an interview with attorney Zoe Salzman, talking about her work that contributed to New York’s repeal of the sales tax on menstrual hygiene … Continue reading

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State Legislature Watch: #Tampon Tax Repeal Bills Live in 13 States

In upcoming legislative sessions, state legislatures in these 13 states are poised to consider bills to repeal the sales tax on menstrual hygiene products: Arizona California Georgia Kentucky Maine Michigan Nebraska Ohio Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia States that … Continue reading

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How Much Do “Free” Tampons Cost? #MenstrualCapitalism and Examples from New York State

Spurred by legislation introduced by New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, that state adopted a law that requires public schools to provide free menstrual hygiene products for students in grades 6-12. In April, 2018, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted the news: … Continue reading

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Gambert and Linné on “The Disruptive Possibilities of Plant Milk”

Feminist Law Prof Iselin Gambert (GW) and Tobias Linné (Lund University) have posted to SSRN their article Got Mylk? The Disruptive Possibilities of Plant Milk, forthcoming in the Brooklyn Law Review (2019). Here is the abstract: Milk is one of … Continue reading

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Shaming and Blaming Mothers Under the Law: It’s Time We Stop Expecting Mothers to Be Perfect

The perfect mother is a ubiquitous, if impossible, part of American life. We see her in spandex at the gym, working out—self-care!—a week after delivering twins. She’s at center-stage when internet experts opine about how mothers can prevent teenagers’ opioid … Continue reading

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The Unconstitutional #Tampon Tax

My Pace colleague Emily Gold Waldman and I have a new draft article, The Unconstitutional Tampon Tax, forthcoming in the Richmond Law Review.  Here is the abstract: Thirty-six states impose a sales tax on menstrual hygiene products, while products like … Continue reading

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You Might be Able to Buy Tampons (and Gym Memberships) with Pre-Tax Dollars

Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) led the way in getting menstrual hygiene products included on an expanded list of products for which flexible spending account funds can be used under H.R. 6199, Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts … Continue reading

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Against Menstrual Capitalism

Menstrual equity, a phrase coined by attorney and activist Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, means “[f]airness for how women are treated in society because they menstruate.” Current menstrual equity efforts run along three identifiable, parallel tracks: (1) campaigns to repeal the state sales … Continue reading

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Kukura on “Obstetric Violence” in @GeorgetownLJ

Elizabeth Kukura (VAP, Drexel) has posted to SSRN her article Obstetric Violence, 106 Geo. L.J. 721 (2018).  Here is the abstract: Maternity care in the United States is in a state of crisis, characterized by high cesarean rates, poor performance … Continue reading

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Richmond Times Editorial Board Supports Ending Virginia’s Tampon Tax

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial board on January 28, 2018: As a general rule, taxes ought to serve a single function: raising revenue for the government. Lawmakers should not use the tax code as a vehicle for social engineering — … Continue reading

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Posted in Women and Economics, Women's Health | 1 Comment

SMU Series on “Excavate, Energize, Equalize: Propelling American Women in Thought and Deed”

Some of you may be interested in the event linked here that I am helping to organize, along with colleagues in the SMU departments of Theology, History and English. This third event in our SMU Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute cluster … Continue reading

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Posted in Reproductive Rights, Sex and Sexuality, Upcoming Conferences, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Of Mosquitoes and “Moral Convictions”: How Rolling Back the Affordable Care Act’s Contraceptive Mandate Jeopardizes Women’s and Children’s Health

December 5 is the deadline to submit comments on the Trump Administration’s recent action to gut the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, which requires employer-sponsored health plans to ensure women’s access to free, effective contraception.  This decision, announced in October … Continue reading

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Posted in Women's Health | 1 Comment

New Zealand Women May Get a Break on the Tampon Tax

From the (New Zealand) Dominion Post, this article about a government-appointed appointed working group that will look at the country’s goods and services tax (akin to the sales tax imposed in the U.S.): [F]inance Minister Grant Robertson said the panel … Continue reading

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How to Get Involved in Menstrual Equity Activism: Advice from Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

The indominitable Jennifer Weiss-Wolf (previously profiled on Feminist Law Profs here) has published a book called Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity (Arcade Publishing, New York: 2017).  Here is the publisher’s description: After centuries of being shrouded … Continue reading

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Women Don’t Bleed Blue (Even Yalies and Members of the Social Register)

Several years ago, Ann Bartow blogged here about U.S. advertisers’ first use of a “red dot” to illustrate blood on a menstrual hygiene pad. According to this article in the Scottish Daily Mail, an ad for Bodyform in the U.K. … Continue reading

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Is Access to Affordable Menstrual Products a “Right”? Men and Women Disagree. But Men are Curious About Robots.

This week Eleanor Goldberg, a reporter at the Huffington Post, published an article, “Lots Of Men Still Don’t See Tampons As A Basic Right.” Here is an excerpt: In a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 American adults released this … Continue reading

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Ben-Asher on Faith-Based Emergency Powers

Noa Ben-Asher (Pace) has posted to SSRN her article, Faith-Based Emergency Powers, forthcoming in the Harvard Journal of Law &  Gender. Here is the abstract: This Article explores an expanding phenomenon that it calls Faith-Based Emergency Powers. In the twenty-first … Continue reading

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Free Candy with Your Tampons, in Texas of all Places!

In Denton, Texas, an indie grocery store owner is offering a free candy bar with the purchase tampons (but oddly, not pads).  The Dallas Morning News reports (here) that store owner Jacob Moses says, “I think the sales tax is … Continue reading

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Guest Blogger Vasujith Ram on Taxes on Sanitary Napkins in India

The Constitution of India was recently amended to introduce the ‘Goods and Services Tax’ (GST). The GST subsumes almost all the existing indirect taxes in India (such as Excise Duty and Service Tax, levied and collected by the Federal Government, … Continue reading

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Scotland’s Experiment with Free Tampons

Good news out of Scotland, via the Huffington Post: Scotland has made another great announcement for women’s health: the government will run a pilot program to provide low-income women with free menstrual products. The initiative, announced Tuesday , will run … Continue reading

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Washington State Considering Repeal of Tampon Tax OR Having Women Pay for DV Services

From the Vancouver (WA) Columbian: Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, is hoping Senate Bill 5093 will exempt feminine hygiene products from retail and use tax. As she pointed out to the Senate Ways & Means Committee last week, they are medically … Continue reading

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Interview with Dana Brooks Cooper, Florida Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Earlier this year, Bridget J. Crawford spoke with Dana Brooks Cooper, Esq. of Barret, Fasig & Brooks in Tallahassee, Florida.  Ms. Brooks is representing the plaintiff in a class action that challenges the Florida “tampon tax,” the state sales tax … Continue reading

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Interview with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, New York Attorney and Menstrual Equity Advocate

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf of Period Equity, a non-profit organization located in New York City focused on all aspects of menstrual fairness. Ms. Weiss-Wolf is a self-described “writer, activist, feminist.” She is an advocate and frequent … Continue reading

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District of Columbia Repeals Its Tampon Tax; Is Texas Next?

The District of Columbia is slated to end its tampons on feminine hygiene products, as well as diapers, in October, 2017: The nation’s capital is joining the movement to lift the sales taxes on diapers, tampons and other feminine hygiene … Continue reading

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Period Stigmas, the Tampon Tax and Social Justice

Cosmopolitan magazine continues its coverage of the menstrual equity movement: In the last year alone, the American Medical Association weighed in against tampon taxes. Jessica Williams railed against them on The Daily Show. And Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui made a … Continue reading

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Interview with Laura Strausfeld, New York Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Laura Strausfeld of Period Equity, a non-profit organization located in New York City focused on all aspects of menstrual fairness. Ms. Strausfeld developed a key legal strategy used in the New York case that … Continue reading

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Conn College Joins the Free Tampon Movement

From Connecticut College’s The College Voice: On Nov. 2, students and administrators gathered in the lobby of Cro to celebrate the launch of free menstrual health products in select bathrooms on campus. The pilot program, spearheaded by Emma Horst-Martz ’18, … Continue reading

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Free Tampons and Pads Coming to NYU

Via the Washington Square News (here), the student newspaper at New York University: Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Marc Wais said that the university decided to convene a working group of students and staff to propose a pilot program … Continue reading

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California’s Tampon Tax May Soon End

From the Huffington Post (here): The same bill unanimously passed in the Assembly in early June. It now heads back to the Assembly for final approval, and then to Gov. Jerry Brown (D), whose office declined to say if he … Continue reading

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Interview with Zoe Salzman, New York Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Zoe Salzman, Esq. of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP in New York.  Ms. Salzman is representing the plaintiffs in a class action that challenges the New York “tampon tax,” the state sales tax … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Economics, Women and Economics, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Interview with Dana Brooks Cooper, Florida Attorney Challenging the “Tampon Tax”

Bridget J. Crawford recently spoke with Dana Brooks Cooper, Esq. of Barret, Fasig & Brooks in Tallahassee, Florida.  Ms. Brooks is representing the plaintiff in a class action that challenges the Florida “tampon tax,” the state sales tax imposed on … Continue reading

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NYS Repeals Tampon Tax

In May, the New York State legislature passed a bill eliminating the sales tax on feminine hygiene products. As expected, that bill was signed into law yesterday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. In the press release (here) issued by the Governor’s … Continue reading

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Free Tampons in the 212: NYC Passes New Law

Last month the New York City Council passed laws requiring the City to provide free menstrual hygiene products in schools, homeless shelters and jails.  Here’s an excerpt from the press release: Feminine hygiene products are essential for the health and … Continue reading

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Martha Nussbaum on Aging and Self-Loathing

Martha Nussbaum writes here in the New Republic, “It’s Time to Take Back Our Aging, Smelly Bodies: Why it’s Important to Resist Shame and Disgust.”  Here is an excerpt: In the 1970s, we women used to talk about loving our own bodies. Inspired … Continue reading

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A New Tampon to Prevent Against HIV

From NPR: When it comes to protecting themselves from HIV, women need more options. About of 84 percent of all women diagnosed with HIV contract the virus through heterosexual sex. And right now, the female condom is the only contraception … Continue reading

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Race, Gender and Psychiatric Disabilities

Katie Rose Guest Pryal (UNC) writes here for Chronicle Vitae on “Shattering the Madness Monolith: On the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Psychiatric Disability. She also wrote another powerful column on mental health and the academy, “She’s So Schizophrenic!”: How … Continue reading

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Posted in Academia, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Krause, “Some Thoughts from a Health Lawyer on Hobby Lobby”

Over at Hamilton and Griffin on Rights, Joan Krause (UNC) has posted “Some Thoughts from a Health Lawyer on Hobby Lobby.”  Here is an excerpt: As a health law professor who teaches a course on women’s health care issues, I … Continue reading

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Lyme Disease as a Feminist Issue

Over here at truthout.org, there is a write-up of radio host Dennis Bernstein’s interview with filmmaker Sini Anderson.  Anderson is the former director of the National Queer Arts Festival and the director of the documentary The Punk Singer about former … Continue reading

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I am the girl who ratted.

From this article: What is it like to come out as a survivor of sexual assault? For a student at Vanderbilt University, it’s meant being called a “crazy bitch,” “psycho,” “NASTY AS SHIT,” and a “no-good cunt.” In February, Jane … Continue reading

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Amicus Brief of Guttmacher Institute in Hobby Lobby

The Guttmacher Institute and Professor Sara Rosenbaum (GWU), as amici curiae in support of the government, have filed a brief in the Hobby Lobby case.  Lead attorneys for the amici are Walter Dellinger and colleagues at O’Melveny & Meyers LLP, … Continue reading

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Defining Pregnancy In Law

Khiara M. Bridges, Boston University School of Law, has published When Pregnancy Is an Injury: Rape, Law  and Culture, at 65 Stanford Law Review 457 (2013). Here is the abstract.        This Article examines criminal statutes that grade more … Continue reading

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Manian on “Abortion Restrictions and Side Effects on Women’s Health”

Maya Manian (USF) has posted to SSRN her article Lessons from Personhood’s Defeat: Abortion Restrictions and Side Effects on Women’s Health, Ohio State L.J. (forthcoming).  Here is the abstract: State personhood laws pose a puzzle. These laws would establish fertilized … Continue reading

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“When Men Are Too Emotional To Have A Rational Argument”

This essay is really good! Below is an excerpt. Women’s Emotions are “Emotions,” Men’s Emotions are “How People Talk” A long time ago, in Bullish: What Egg Donation Taught Me About Being a Dude, I quoted Ben Barres, Chair of … Continue reading

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Posted in Feminism and Politics, Feminists in Academia, Women's Health | 2 Comments

Ever wonder how the USDOJ defines stalking?

According to this site: Stalking is a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. Stalking can include: Repeated, unwanted, … Continue reading

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Posted in Acts of Violence, Feminism and Culture, Women's Health | 1 Comment