Thank you for approving 6VAC 15-40-770, the HB83 revised regulation/standard!

I believe that access to safe menstrual products is a matter of human dignity and public health. Menstrual supplies are a health care necessity and not an item that can be foregone easily. Women are entitled to this basic right.... no matter their circumstances!!!

While passing this law has been a significant step forward in achieving menstrual equity, there must also be consistency and enforcement to ensure free and equal access to menstrual products across all jails and prisons.

Addressing the needs of women and girls must become a higher priority than it has been in the past. By passing this important legislation, VA is now on the leading edge of much needed change to achieve menstrual equity in the world and it will send a strong message of support to women that their needs matter. Tampons and pads should be provided freely, like toilet paper, in ALL public facilities.

Comment HB 83 .  It's not a need nor a want that women must have menstrual products for free.

I"m extend my full support support for menstrual equity in our jails and prisons.

Mike Beayty, Gainesville, VA 

Tampons and pads should be provided like toilet paper in public facilities and installations and jails for free. 

Women in jails and prisons should be supplied with the basic items they need to maintain a reasonable degree of cleanliness and should not be charged a fee for it. Provision of tampons and pads as needed by each incarcerated individual should be part of the cost of incarcerating them, like costs associated with heating, toilet paper, and food. And it is important that tampons be provided to individuals in addition to sanitary pads. Besides the psychological distress many women feel at being forced to spend time sitting in their own blood, recognize that the environment within correctional institutions is rife with transmissible infections, and tampons are a means of reducing inmates’ exposure to one another’s blood. (Imagine stepping into a communal shower after someone with blood running down her legs because she was prohibited from using a tampon. This is simply unacceptable.) I urge you to implement the proposed changes immediately and thank you for fast-tracking this!

Providing female inmates the menstrual products they prefer at no charge is simply common sense and humane.

I write to support the proposed changes that would provide access to the menstrual products needed by inmates.  Thank you.

I I approve of the proosed changes regarding hygiene items for women.

I support the proposed changes in the regulation language. People should be allowed to choose the menstrual hygiene product that works best for them; letting a facility define and determine what will be considered and distributed as a menstrual hygiene product neglects the individual bodies and needs of menstrual product users. Additionally, the provision that products will be provided "without charge" is crucial. Having a period is not a choice. Those with already limited financial resources, like those incarcerated, should not be financially punished for biological functions. Should we charge an inmate for the use of toilet paper? 

Regarding the striking of the word "reasonable" from the provision, this change is, again, necessary to recognize the individual needs of menstrual product users. Menstrual cycles, flows, and needs vary widely. It should never be up to another person to determine what is a "reasonable" request for menstrual products. 

It can be easy for most men to ignore this sort of issue, since we don't have to deal with this aspect of hygiene. But for one, we all know that blood can be a biohazard, and it is important to keep things sanitary. More than that, however, it is a humanitarian issue. If innmates were not provided with general first-aid supplies on demand, for instance, it would clearly be baseless and needlessly dehumanizing. Both in the interest of public health, and on moral grounds, this change should be given full support.

The proposed change in the regulations is very valuable. Women who are incarcerated should not be burdened with worry about where they will get the feminine hygene supplies that they need.

i am in supoort of 6VAC15-40-770, a provision which includes providing and allowing the use of tampons for feminine hygiene for incarcertated women.  This change would provide more santiary conditions for all and reduce exposure to blood born pathogens that may be associated with menstruation flow that may be unchecked or not properly contained.  

I am in total agreeance with this change. All women should be allowed to have these supplies on request at anytime. Not only is this a moral issue but also a health risk when they are not able to have these supplies.

ALL women deserve hygienic methods of dealing with their own biological processes, and making these NEEDS unavailable and ternate options potentially punishable is an egregious injustice by the State. Make it happen. Incarceration should not strip people of their humanity to this extent. Do right by these women, we demand it. 

The proposed changes to this legislation must happen. This is not a complicated decision and we shouldn’t insult our intelligence by pretending that it is. All we need to be is compassionate, inquisitive, and understanding. 

This is an important regulation that gives dignity to all those who are incarcerated and menstruate. This is a normal bodily function and should be treated in the same way we provide toilet paper in all places where there are toilets. The fact that the basic needs of menstruating inmates has been subject to arbitrary decision making on the part of corrections facilities and the employees of those facilities is quite frankly archaic. Just because someone is incarcerated doesn't justify arbitrarily denying them basic necessitites. 

Tampons better meet the needs of many menstruating inmates and up to this point those were only available by purchase. Here in the 21st century, providing tampons free of charge in addition to pads is not something that should even be up for discussion.

I hope that this regulation passes without delay and it's implementation is a priority. The DOC and the Office of Public Safety need to communicate this policy clearly, promote its adoption immedaitely, and put in place a plan to make certain it is being implemented effectively. 

The propsed change to the legislation is a good thing and should be supported. Basic cleanliness is a must for any population that does not want disease to run rampant, especially with a vector as potent as blood. In addition, the cost should be covered by the prison, as these items are needed by the women to help control a natural cycle that they themselves have no power over. It is in basic human decency to give these women the necessary items for personal hygiene. 

My organization supports any legislation that will remove any discriminatory practices across Virginia.  It is basic human decency to give women the proper care they deserve, even in prison.  By not providing the needed sanitary products, sets up a discriminatory practice that targets a specific group of inmates, specifically women.  This needs to stop and it needs to change. This is a women's rights issue that needs to be addressed immediately. 

We support this change whole heartedly.

Larry Mendoza, MS

Please consider providing, free of charge, feminine hygeine products to mensturating females everywhere in the Virginia penal system.  Anything less is inhumane.

And I have a fairly light period, actually. Mine lasts about four days- I use two or three tampons the first day, two the second day, and two more over the next two-three days. 

Think I just told you too much information? First of all, grow up. Second of all, forcing prisoners to disclose how many menstrual products they need a month and denying them access to menstrual supplies if they go over their ‘limit’ is absurdly similar to what I just shared with you. Sorry, folks, but we’re not bleeding AT you. Going over the ‘limit’ for menstrual supplies isn’t an act of defiance- it’s an involuntary act of bloody uterine tissue as affected by gravity. Want to argue with gravity that it’s pulling too much blood out of us and messing up the internal prison menstrual supply estimates? Go right ahead- but please, videotape it, because I could use a laugh.

I just finished my period yesterday so I’m going to go pull out and flush my last tampon now. That’s the sixth one I’ve used. However, just because my period comes like clockwork doesn’t mean that others are blessed with a consistent period. If someone needs more menstrual supplies than they did last month, do yourself and your floors a favor and just give them more supplies. Thanks for reading!

I support the changes to provide free sanitary napkins and tampons to female inmates. 

Menstrual products should be available for free in all Jails and Prisons just like toilet paper.  It is both a moral and a sanitary issue. Thank you for fast-tracking!

Incarcerated women desreve to be treated with dignity--this is an important step towards that goal. 

It is surprising that women in prisons are not given feminine hygiene products as needed each month. So - yes, please pass this bill.

My faith calls me to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Denying women the tampons and sanitary napkins they require during their menstrual period denies their worth and dignity. Making them pay for these supplies denies them equity. I fully support the amendment to 6VAC15-40-770.

As a woman who has access to menstruated hygiene products I feel compelled to write on behalf of those who do not have the “luxury” (no pun intended) to have constant access to menstrual hygiene products that are free. As a Nurse Practitioner I see the rashes, infections, and deaths that proceed the use of unsafe products to catch our monthly flows used by women who are incarcerated. I believe that menstrual health is a vital part of our health and having access to free products is a must. Image sitting in one place, embarrassed to love because you have spoiled yourself and don’t have access to a pad or additional tampon. Many women suffer from heavy flows and need extra absorbency. Women who are incarcerated should not have to beg and plead for the essential needs. I am for the revision!

Imagine your mother, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin or friend with no means at her disposal to catch her monthly bleeding. Then consider the public health impact of that blood on anyone who might unknowingly come in contact with it. Making tampons and pads available is imperative.

It is not only common decency to provide basic hygienic care products (toothbrush/paste/sanitary napkins/tampons) but it is a health concern not to. I am in complete support of this provision of hygiene items for incarcerated women. 

I am a Gynecologist. Mensrual bleeding is obviously something completely foreign to men. Over the past 28 years, I have heard hundreds of stories relating to the inadequate management of menstrual bleeding. Few things are more embarrassing than bleeding through one’s garments. Incarcerated women need access to feminine hygiene products and they shouldn’t have to jump through humiliating hoops to get them. 

Thank you for approving 6VAC 1-40-770, the revised regulation/standard.                                                              As a registered nurse and nurse midwife I am very familiar with women's health and hygiene needs related to menstruation. Access to appropriate menstrual products is a health and public health issue particuarly for incarcerated women. Tampons and sanitary pads should be available without charge and readily accessible for all inmates who need them.                                                                                                                                            By passing this legislation with the revised regulations Virginia's leadership has demonstrated an awareness that women's health needs do matter.  I hope this new standard will be consistently enforced in all the jails and prisons throughout the Commonwealth.

Thank you for approving 6VAC 15-40-770, the HB83 revised regulation/standard.

Access to safe menstrual products is a matter of human dignity and public health, and menstrual supplies are a health care necessity. That includes tampons and pads, which should be provided freely, like toilet paper, in ALL public facilities. Consistency and enforcement are essential to ensure free and equal access to menstrual products across all jails and prisons.