Poverty & Period Products: Achieving Menstrual and Abortion Justice Through Public Benefit Programs

Low-income people need and deserve access to quality menstrual products through public benefit programs as a public health and reproductive justice issue. Whether someone is managing their monthly period, a medical abortion, or post-pregnancy discharge, menstrual products are essential to ensure that person’s safety and bodily autonomy. Low-income people on public benefit programs who menstruate face a variety of stigmas and barriers, and these programs are in a unique position to increase access to menstrual products to work toward menstrual and abortion justice. This Article outlines the history of public benefit programs and the stigmas accompanying them. It also details the current status of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Medicaid, exploring structural and cultural barriers to accessing menstrual products. This Article then argues that public benefit program coverage of menstrual products is essential to increase menstrual and abortion justice for low-income people, especially in a post-Dobbs environment where bodily autonomy is increasingly under attack. Lastly, this Article details various policy proposals at the federal and state levels to achieve true menstrual and reproductive justice by increasing access to menstrual products through public benefit programs.