Lawmakers in Florida are moving forward with a bill that would ban girls from talking about their periods while at school

In their continued quest to legislate anyone who isn’t white, straight, male, and Christian into hiding, lawmakers in Florida have advanced a horrifying bill that would ban girls from talking about their periods while at school. As you can probably assume, the bill is supported by Republicans who are pushing it in the name of “personal freedom,” because limiting people’s speech is certainly a hallmark sign of a free society.

Florida Bill 1069 would severely restrict sex education across Florida to the point that even a young girl asking her teacher about menstruation would run afoul of the new legislation. During a Florida House Education Quality Subcommittee meeting last week, Republican state Rep. Stan McClain introduced the bill, which would require all instruction that Republicans have deemed sexual—including sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases, and human sexuality—to “only occur in grades 6 through 12.”

Democratic state Rep. Ashley Gantt posed the question during the subcommittee meeting: “So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in fifth grade or fourth grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?”

McCain responded, “It would.”

The average age for girls to start their period is 12, but it’s not uncommon for girls to start menstruating as early as eight years old. Medical professionals recommend talking to kids about things like puberty early and often, so they’ll be prepared when they start experiencing these changes in their bodies. Under McCain’s bill, if a girl started her period before sixth grade and asked anyone at school—her teacher, a friend, or even a counselor—for help, she’d be breaking the law. Personal freedom, amiright?

McCain later clarified that this “would not be the intent” of the bill and that he’s “amenable” to amendments. But the bill passed the subcommittee as-is, with a vote of 13-5 in a state legislature that’s controlled by a Republican supermajority.

The bill will now continue through the Florida legislature, where it’s not unlikely to pass—this is, remember, the state that made it a felony for teachers to have “unapproved” books in their classrooms. All in the name of freedom!

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