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Mission in Action Combatting a Senseless Tax “I can’t wait until people say that my job is superfluous because that means I can move onto other issues that we should be spending more time on.” Madeleine Morales ’18 is a dual degree student and received a bachelor’s in political science from Barnard College this year and will receive a master’s in public health with a concentration in public health policy from the Columbia School of Public Health in 2023. An assignment on gender and public policy changed her life. “We could write about any issue, and I wanted to focus on a contemporary, gendered public health issue,” said Morales. “I decided to dig into why certain states have a tampon tax and others don’t. It was unlike any other policy analysis I’ve ever done.”
Madeleine encourages everyone to file their own refunds and has created an Instagram account that outlines the easy steps (see QR code to the right). 8 | CONNECTIONS
When you speak with Madeleine, her passion is apparent.
“It lights a fire under me every day. This is a human rights issue. Menstruation is not a partisan issue – people on both sides of the aisle can menstruate. We don’t talk about it because of the stigma, and this stigma reinforces a physical model of domination. Western Europe is already ahead of us and it’s a shame that the United States is behind on providing tampons and pads as medical necessities. It’s just a function of life and a biological mechanism. It’s quite literally the state of your body and it should not be taxed or taboo.”
Madeleine, who has been drawn to human right issues since she was a Country Day student, is a menstrual justice activist.
“It’s gender-based discrimination. There is a wage gap and this tax is a punitive measure, a regressive tax. This tax is basically saying, ‘Your body is an inconvenience and you have to pay for it.’”
If you are in disbelief, you are not alone. And there’s more.
But Morales has not just researched and written about this tax. To date, she has taken legal action against four states over their tampon taxes, going through the petition, appeal, and court re-appeal process. Eventually, she had to drop the cases to avoid setting a negative precedent; although, she helped co-lead National Period Action Day and finally got the Michigan legislature to eradicate its tampon tax. Madeleine strongly believes that the dual efforts of policy and grassroots were effective in getting an eradication bill passed.
“Ohio just got rid of its tampon tax a couple of years ago but in Kentucky and Indiana menstruators are still paying a fee to participate in society,” continued Morales.
According to Madeleine, states that tax menstruators collect a combined $150 million, a decrease from $250 million four years ago before some states – like Michigan – passed bills eradicating the tax.
