The Big Picture

A map of the U.S. showing which states as well as the federal government have protected access to menstrual items for female inmates in laws, policies, and handbooks.

This site breaks down whether states and the federal government mention access to menstrual products for incarcerated women in laws, policies, and handbooks. The image above and the table and group lists below show which states have protected access in how many of these locations. Blank states do not mention access in any of these locations. Dotted states mention access in one of these locations. Square-pattern states mention access in two of these locations. Black is used only for jurisdictions where access is mentioned in all three locations: law, policies, and handbooks.

Only four areas protect access to menstrual products for incarcerated women in all three places: Alabama, Colorado, New York, and the federal government. A large number of states are doted only because they have recently passed legislation, and there are states in a variety of sections of the U.S. which do not mention menstrual products at all-such as the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast, and central plains.

Area	Law	Policy	Handbook
Federal	X	X	X
Alabama	X	X	X
Alaska		X	X
Arizona	X	X
Arkansas	X		X
California	X
Colorado	X	X	X
Connecticut	X	X
Delaware	X
Florida	X
Georgia		X
Hawaii		X
Idaho		X
Illinois			X
Indiana		X
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky	X	X
Louisiana	X
Maine	X
Maryland	X	X
Massachusetts
Michigan		X
Minnesota	X		X
Mississippi	X		X
Missouri	X		X
Montana		X
Nebraska	X	X
Nevada		X
New Hampshire
New Jersey	X
New Mexico		X	X
New York	X	X	X
North Carolina	X
North Dakota		X
Ohio		X	X
Oklahoma		X
Oregon	X
Pennsylvania		X
Rhode Island		X
South Carolina	X
South Dakota		X
Tennessee	X
Texas	X
Utah		X
Vermont			X
Virginia	X
Washington		X
West Virginia			X
Wisconsin		X	X
Wyoming

Which areas mention giving menstrual products to incarcerated women in their laws, policies, and handbooks. For a table with linked citations, please click here.

Black

Federal Government
Alabama
Colorado
New York

Square-pattern

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Kentucky
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
Ohio
Wisconsin

Dotted

California
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia

Blank

Iowa
Kansas
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Wyoming

Page last updated 2 Jun, 2023