New Hampshire House Passes Bill To Provide Free Menstrual Products In Public Schools

The New Hampshire House passed a bill on Wednesday that would require free pads and tampons be provided in all public middle and high schools in the state. 

The legislation, also referred to as the period poverty bill , passed the House in a 211-135 vote on Wednesday morning, according to The Associated Press .

The bill, which requires menstrual products be in all female and gender-neutral bathrooms, was spearheaded by high school senior Caroline Dillon  after she learned about how many people are forced to miss school or work because they can’t afford pads and tampons. Dillon, who worked with state Sen. Martha Hennessey (D) to draft the measure in March, testified in front of the state Senate’s Education and Workforce Development Committee in February. 

“It was sad to think about,” Dillon said during the committee hearing, the Concord Monitor reported . “Girls in middle and high school would never dream of telling somebody that they have to miss school or use socks because they can’t pay for pads.”

Dillon urged lawmakers in February to view menstrual products as they see toilet paper a necessity. 

“I know for a fact that girls here and at the middle school will stay home if they don’t have access, and they’ll [do] awful things like using socks or newspaper or reusing things, and your risk for infection skyrockets,” she told The Associated Press at the time .

The legislation now heads to the desk of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R).