Democratic lawmakers complained in late May about employers not providing paid leave for painful menstruation cycles, calling it “economic violence.”
“Forcing a worker to choose between paying her rent or losing a day’s pay to recover from a grueling gynecological procedure is not a choice. It’s economic violence,” Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., said during a press conference on May 21.
Grijalva was joined by Reps. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who are backing Ansari’s Reproductive Healthcare Leave Act, which is a part of her “H.E.R.” (Healthy, Equity, Rights) Agenda.
The Reproductive Healthcare Leave Act (H.R. 8158) — the flagship bill — would provide up to 12 days of paid leave per year for reproductive health needs, including severe menstrual pain, abortions, menopause symptoms, miscarriages, biopsies, vasectomies and more. The “H.E.R.” Agenda also includes studies regarding gynecological pain management and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder awareness.
“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health to be able to manage that kind of incredible pain,” Tlaib said during the press conference.
Ansari, the youngest woman in Congress, ties the bill to her own period pain, telling TIME in an article published on Sunday that she once woke up the floor of her “local bodega, drenched in sweat, being dragged into an ambulance” and said she has days every month when she feels “barbed wire” inside of her.
The bill, introduced Saturday with 28 Democratic cosponsors and zero Republican sponsors, has already received backlash.
“Ladies, you can’t keep saying men can be women, but then also say that women are a special category. You’ve got to pick a lane. You’re very confusing to the rest of us.” Rhode Island state Rep. Marie Hopkins, R., posted on X.
Some social media users also questioned whether the bill could more easily allow employees to discriminate against hiring women and shared concerns that despite it covering vasectomies, men wouldn’t receive paid days for prostate issues and testosterone-related conditions.
Other users also questioned if the bill could force employers to pay workers for time off to recover from abortions.
The bill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Planned Parenthood Votes vice president Angela Vasquez-Giroux told Bloomberg in an article published on Friday that though there were “roadblocks to the bills becoming law,” it doesn’t mean lawmakers shouldn’t try.
“We’ve seen overwhelming success from candidates who have a plan and have a point of view,” vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Votes Angela Vasquez-Giroux told Bloomberg. “Just because we can’t get something passed over the opposition of the majority at the time doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be putting forward our vision for the world we want to create.
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