To better address student needs, the New Mexico Legislature has introduced House Bill 151, which aims to improve access to menstrual products by requiring state educational institutions to provide them at no cost in campus bathrooms.
Under the bill, menstrual products, including sanitary pads and tampons, must be available at no charge in all women’s bathrooms, gender-neutral bathrooms, and at least one men’s bathroom on each campus. The bill also allocates $1 million in funding to help institutions install menstrual product dispensers and purchase menstrual supplies.
After passing the House Health and Human Services Committee with a 5-4 vote, the bill will proceed to the full House for debate and vote. Opponents of the bill included Republican Rep. Alan Martinez, who said, “I really have a hard time philosophically with putting them in a men’s bathroom. If there is a transgender person, they can use the gender-neutral bathroom.”
Democratic Rep. Marianna Anaya, chair of the House Enrolling & Engrossing Committee who introduced the bill, said, “Trans men can also bleed through. I will say one of the most terrifying things that usually happen to folks who do menstruate is the fact you may bleed through your clothes and it is hideously embarrassing.”
A similar measure passed in 2023 requiring K-12 schools to provide free menstrual products. This new proposal for higher education institutions builds on that progress to expand access to essential health products for all students.
