A Voice for Choice Advocacy is excited to announce that Assembly member
Cristina Garcia will be authoring our bill to label Menstrual Product
ingredients: AB-1989 Menstrual Products Right to Know Act of 2020
<[link removed]
200AB1989> . Women are exposed to a many product toxins in their menstrual
products, according to the advocacy group
<[link removed]> Women's
Voices for the Earth, potentially leading to cancer, reproductive damage,
allergic reactions and hormone disruption. This bill would require that all
product ingredients, from tampons to sponges to menstrual underwear, become
publicly available to consumers. In Garcia's words, "If we are using these
products, we should know what we're putting in our bodies. If it's a
tampon, pad, a cup, Thinx underwear, no matter the product, I want you to
have the best xxxxxxrmation out there."

This is a great bill for you to use to start conversations and continue to
build relationships with your legislators on all issues of xxxxxxrmed choice
and transparency.

History of getting AB 1989 authored
At the end of each year AVFCA puts together a list of bills we would like to
see authored in the following legislative session. Many of these bill
suggestions are to have conversations with legislators and their staff about
various issues related to xxxxxxrmed choice and transparency of what goes into
our bodies. They also serve the purpose of showing the legislators and
their staff that AVFCA is a professional organization, respected in the
Capital for the advocacy work we do, and we are going to be present in the
Capital and hold our legislators accountable. #NotGoingAway. We can't pay
our lobbyists without your ongoing support, so if you appreciate the work A
Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a recurring
donation today <[link removed]> .

After NY state passed a similar Menstrual Product Labeling bill into law
last year
([link removed]
t), AVFCA's lobbyists approached a number of Assembly Members with the bill
idea and after much discussion Asm Cristina Garcia decided to author it. We
will be working closely with her office to gain support of other
legislators, as well as working with other organizations to garner support
for the bill, to move the bill through the legislature this year. Having a
bill in play this year will also allow us to continue our education of
legislators on other issue that are important to us, including Glyphosate
and Vaccines.

Background
([link removed])
Feminine care. Feminine hygiene. Personal cleansing products. Menstrual
products. Intimate care. No matter what you call them, these consumer
products are manufactured for and marketed exclusively to women. The purpose
of feminine care products is to clean, moisturize, absorb discharge or
otherwise treat the sensitive skin and tissues of the vaginal area. Women
are told they are necessary for personal hygiene, a "fresher feeling," or
"greater confidence," and the companies marketing these products imply that
this improved cleanliness will promote good health and increase sex appeal.
Feminine care products are widely used by women in the United States and
constitute a $3 billion dollar industry. The most popular feminine care
products are tampons and menstrual pads, used by 70-85 percent of women.
Douches, sprays, washes, and wipes are used by a smaller percentage of women
(approximately 10-40 percent), with rates considerably higher among
African-American, Latina and low-income women.

Problem
Feminine care products include personal care products such as douches,
sprays, washes, and wipes and menstrual products, such as tampons, pads and
menstrual cups. These products intended for use on or in an incredibly
absorbent part of a woman's body are marketed and sold with little to no
data assuring the ingredients they contain are safe. Ingredients are
determined "safe," operating under the premise that they are used on
ordinary skin just like other cosmetic products. That means chemicals of
concern such as carcinogens, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, and
allergens are being used on, or even in, the extremely permeable mucus
membranes of the vaginal area. See end of this document or
[link removed]-
Feminine-Care-Products.pdf for more details.
While personal care products, such as douches, sprays, washes, and wipes
require a list of ingredients on the packages, menstrual products, such as
tampons, pads and menstrual cups, are considered 'medical devices' by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and therefore are not subject to
ingredient labeling. As a result, ingredients used in these products are
rarely disclosed publicly.

Solution
AB-1989 Menstrual Products Right to Know Act of 2020
<[link removed]
200AB1989> .

If you are part of an organization or company that would like to support
AB-1989, please email [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> and we will add you to our
organization support list.

Thank you for your support.
C
P.S. If you found this xxxxxxrmation helpful and appreciate the work A Voice
for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.
<[link removed]>
Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org <[link removed]>
408 835 9353

WWW.AVOICEFORCHOICEADVOCACY.ORG <[link removed]>
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