Maine GOP rep. says access to menstrual products would make jails like ‘country clubs’

During a hearing last week over whether incarcerated Mainers should be guaranteed access to basic menstrual hygiene products, Republican state Rep. Richard Pickett of Dixfield cautioned that such a rule might make the prison system seem too much like a “country club.”

On Friday, members of the legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted 6-4 to advance LD 628, which would ensure comprehensive access to menstrual products in all of Maine’s correctional and detention facilities.

During debate, Pickett, who currently serves as Dixfield Police Chief and who voted against the bill, argued that detainees already had access to menstrual products such as pads and tampons.

“Quite frankly, and I don’t mean this in any disrespect, the jail system and the correctional system was never meant to be a country club,” he said, according to Bangor Daily News reporter Alex Acquisto. “They have a right to have these and they have them. If that wasn’t the case, then I would be supporting the motion, but they do.”

During testimony, however, supporters of the bill explained how incarcerated people who menstruate are only given a limited amount of supplies each month.

“Imagine you’re a person who has their period inside of a correctional facility,” said Whitney Parrish, director of policy and program for the Maine Women’s Lobby. “You’re given a limited supply of menstrual products per month, often of low quality due to cost saving, and when you run out, you’re out…You may have no money to go to commissary, and if you do, you may have to weigh that purchase against other necessities, like making phone calls to your children or attorney. You are forced to make the impossible decision of constructing your own menstrual products, using anything from clothing or notebook paper in place of a tampon.”

“Without adequate access to clean and hygienic menstrual products,” Parrish continued, “you may face serious health consequences. This happens every single month, and for some with irregular cycles, more frequently. Menstrual products are not a luxury item by any means.”

In 2017, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that free menstrual products would be guaranteed for all women, transgender and nonbinary people. However, there is no such policy for state prisons and county jails, which house the majority of incarcerated people.

Pickett further argued that the bill is an example of lawmakers trying to “micromanage” the criminal justice system, saying: “Sometimes when you gotta look at things, when you have something that is working and something that is there, you can’t continue to micromanage the jail systems,” Acquisto reported.

However, in her testimony, Meagan Sway, policy counsel for the ACLU of Maine, explained that LD 628 is crucial to safeguarding this access “so that future commissioners are not tempted to save money in their budgets or use menstrual products as tools of control by denying women access to basic necessities.”

Rep. Richard Pickett (R-Dixfield). (Photo: Christian Civic League of Maine via Facebook)