If The Huffington Post had written the Declaration of Independence, all people would have the right to life, liberty, and a free supply of tampons.
“Free Tampons should be a human right,” according to Emily Peck, the executive business editor for The Huffington Post. That was what she claimed on March 8, 2016, while promoting the “Free the Tampons” organization started by tampon advocate Nancy Kramer. After all, toilet paper is free in public restrooms, so why aren’t feminine hygiene products? 
Peck pointed out that you’ve probably never paid for toilet paper in a public restroom in the United States, or had to bring your own toilet paper with you in a bag. Therefore, that must mean that toilet paper is a human right, and if that hygiene product is a human right, others ought to be as well.
“Tampons and pads should be treated just like toilet paper. They serve the same purpose -- items to tend to our every day, normal bodily functions," Nancy Kramer told The Huffington Post.
There are several flaws in Kramer’s and Peck’s logic. First, and arguably most important, nothing in life is actually free.
What Kramer and Peck are really promoting by requiring “public” restrooms to provide free tampons is nothing more than the government forcing another regulation and expense on private companies. If Walmart had “free” tampons provided to anyone, Walmart would still have to pay for them.
Kramer’s research indicated that it costs roughly $4.67 per person per year to provide “free” sanitary products. On its face, that may seem inexpensive (“less than a fancy cup of coffee,” Kramer quipped), but it adds up quickly.
Suppose Walmart chose to supply sanitary products to just their U.S.-based employees: If half of Walmart’s 1.3 million nation-wide employees are women, Walmart would have to spend $3,035,500 per year on sanitary products. Just for employees. That figure would not include customers.
If half of Walmart’s 260 million weekly shoppers are women, and Walmart supplied enough sanitary products for just one menstrual cycle per year, per woman, that would cost Walmart $618,800,000 each year. To provide enough sanitary products for every menstrual cycle would cost an astonishing $7,285,200,000. Clearly tampons aren’t free, no matter what Peck and Kramer say.
Second, just because a company chooses to provide free toilet paper to its customers (or anyone, for those of you who run into a Starbucks for quick relief and duck out before a barista can spell your name wrong), that it still isn’t a human right. It’s a service, not a right.
It would be inconvenient to be asked to pay for your toilet paper without warning, but not dehumanizing.
Similarly, it’s inconvenient to be caught unprepared in a public restroom, but it’s not dehumanizing or sexist.
The liberal demand for free tampons is nothing new. In 2014, NARAL director, Jessica Valenti also advocated for free tampons, and writers from Jezebel, TIME, The Washington Examiner, and Cosmo all voiced their support.
Between Feb. 19, 2016, and March 10, 2016, Jezebel advocated for “free tampons for everyone,” The New York Times blog promoted the “Free the Tampons” movement, and students at Columbia University demanded that the college pay for their sanitary products.
As a woman, complimentary tampons sound great. Complimentary ibuprofen and chocolate would be great too. If a private company chooses to have a period-preparedness basket in their women’s restrooms, it’s nice. But it should be voluntary, not required.
