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Maryland city council members introduced the bill Monday to expand access to menstrual products in all city-owned bathrooms, including those designated for men.
Baltimore Councillor Paris Gray, the bill’s lead sponsor, introduced the law at a bimonthly meeting of the city council.
Gray said the bill is not merely a proposal, but it reflects the city’s commitment to menstrual equity and the values Baltimore values, including dignity, accessibility and public health.
“Access to menstrual products must be as basic as access to soap and toilet paper,” Gray said. “It’s an important part of personal hygiene, but for too many people, these products remain out of reach. Menstrual products are not luxury. They are necessary, and the lack of access can cause excessive stress and difficulties.”
California School Districts Let’s Know that Parent Period Products Are in Bathrooms for “menstrual Students”
Whether feminine hygiene products are available in men’s toilets has become a divisive topic in places like university campuses, as only women can menstruate. (Getty Images)
Gray said the bill, if approved, would require all city-owned buildings and public toilets, would require menstrual products to be provided free of charge.
“This includes toilets and all kinds of facilities, whether designated for male, female, family use, single occupancy or not,” he said.
However, the bill Gray pointed out is not new. Instead, the bill codifies what Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration and the Department of General Services have already done in taking steps to make menstrual products available to many public facilities in the city.
In California, public schools require menstrual products
Gray also said Baltimore is not involved in the national movement for menstrual equality, but instead leads the accusations nationwide.
If the bill is passed, all city-owned and leased buildings in Baltimore, Maryland, and buildings with public toilets must provide free menstrual products, including men’s toilets. (Getty Images)
“Cities and municipalities recognize the importance of free access to menstrual products and recognize that Baltimore has proudly gone to this place at the forefront of this important effort,” he said.
Gray did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comments on this issue.
In February, the Long Beach Unified School District in California took similar steps when they emailed that all schools, including third- to 12th graders, had menstrual products in girls’ bathrooms, all-gender bathrooms and at least one boy’s bathroom.
Emerson College adds period products to men’s toilets and meets group demand for “menstrual equality”
The email told parents and caregivers that the system is “committed to reducing barriers to learning and nurturing the support environment for all students.”
The availability of period products in girls’ bathrooms and at least one boy’s bathrooms is to ensure that transgender boys and non-binary students will have access to these necessary products with dignity and discretion according to email.
The Baltimore City Council proposed to put products in the bathrooms for men in any city-run facility for the last time. (istock)
In California, “menstrual equality in all laws” was passed in October 2023, requiring changes to be made after the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
When the bill was passed, the following text was added to the state education code:
“Since the start of the 2024-25 academic year, maintaining a combination of public schools, including schools run by the district, county education department, or charter schools, as well as classes for grades 3 to 12, will always provide a supply of menstrual products to the school toilets, and are available and accessible, and all women’s roof rooms are free to use and access to all women’s roof rooms.
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Menstrual products were defined in the bill as pads and tampons, particularly “for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.”
The bill also said it was “the purpose of the state legislature.”
Elizabeth Pritchett of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
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