‘We become the first state in the nation to … empower women to make their own decisions about what goes into their bodies…’
Editor’s Note: Article contains subject matter some may find uncomfortable
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Some said a major holiday last week was about exploration; others, about exploitation.
But for presidential hopeful Julian Castro, the second full week of October was all about ovulation.
Although dozens of leftist locales across the country spurned Christopher Columbus—instead recognizing Indigenous People’s Day on the second Monday of October—the following Saturday they swapped their wampum for tampons in honor of National Period Day.
Every day, people are forced to choose between going to school or work, or staying home because they can’t afford the menstrual products they need.
Pads, tampons and cups should be available tax-free, across the nation.#NationalPeriodDay https://t.co/orIDdz1lPD
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 19, 2019
Just like the monthly visitor has caught some women by surprise, so, too, was the annual holiday an unexpected addition to the calendar for many.
On his radio show Monday, conservative host Rush Limbaugh not only marveled that the fertile-female affliction had its own fete day, but he also was baffled by some of the equipment involved.
“Dawn, did you know there was a National Period Day?” Limbaugh asked a staff member. “How would you celebrate National Period Day? How can men participate in National Period Day? … I mean, who knew that people were missing work because they couldn’t afford tampons.”
He went on to puzzle over what the “cups” were that Castro had referenced.
“You don’t know what cups are for women?” Limbaugh again asked the female staffer.
“Well, you’re the women’s expert on this staff and you don’t know what cups are for women?,” he said. “You gotta think transgender, I think, if you’re gonna think cups for women. I’m guessing. Hell, I don’t know, either.”
Still, Limbaugh added, Obama’s far-left former housing secretary had succeeded in raising greater awareness of a serious concern—which seemed nothing like a cynical attempt to pander to feminist voters. (Castro’s poll numbers hover around the low single digits in the Democratic primary race.)
“All I know is that I learned something today,” Limbaugh said, “that there are women cowering in the corners at home afraid to go to work because they don’t have government-paid-for-tampons.”
Castro is not the only Democrat to embrace menstrual cycles as a pathway to electoral success.
Earlier this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into effect new legislation that required the packaging on all feminine-hygiene products to include a clearly printed list of ingredients.
Cuomo called it another component in the ongoing battle for reproductive health being championed by Democrats in New York.
“It’s part of the pervasive culture of inequality in our society that has gone on for too long,” he said in a statement, “and that injustice ends today as we become the first state in the nation to mandate ingredient disclosure and empower women to make their own decisions about what goes into their bodies.”
In January, New York became the first state also to legalize late-term abortions, a controversial practice that some—including Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam—admitted might blur the lines with infanticide in some cases.
Most Democrats also have come out in favor of government subsidies for reproductive concerns—even pregnancies that are the consequence of personal choices.
Front-runner Joe Biden joined most others in the Left’s candidate pool this summer by changing his long-held stance in support of the Hyde Amendment, which sought to prevent tax funds from supporting fetal terminations except in extreme cases.
Under President Donald Trump, however, organizations such as Planned Parenthood that perform abortions have been blocked from receiving federal funding.
Democrats, despite their own affection for ‘Auntie Flo’ also tried to bludgeon Trump as a misogynist after he appeared to suggest debate moderator Megyn Kelly was on her cycle.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump said in August 2015.