A new bid to expand paid time off found Democratic lawmakers alleging “economic violence” from companies failing to accommodate a monthly occurrence.
The same party that refuses to safeguard private spaces, protect girls’ and women’s sports and won’t even define a woman has now introduced a bill heavily geared toward the Health, Equity and Rights (HER) Agenda. Ahead of the partisan sponsored legislation, a press conference featured lawmakers insisting that failure to offer PTO for menstruation-related symptoms was equivalent to “economic violence.”
Gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on May 21, Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D) accompanied Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) in supporting Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari’s (D) Reproductive Healthcare Leave Act. During her remarks, Grijalva contended, “Forcing a worker to choose between paying her rent or losing a day’s pay to recover from a grueling gynecological procedure is not a choice. It’s economic violence.”
Democrat Reps Yassamin Ansari, Adelita Grijalva, and Rashida Tlaib held a press conference to discuss how painful their periods are pic.twitter.com/h4WBG1mBzk
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 31, 2026
In her own remarks, Tlaib said, “No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health to be able to manage that kind of incredible pain.”
For her part, Ansari read from a piece published by Time Magazine in March where she’d shared a personal anecdote from an experience in 2015 while working for the United Nations on climate policy.
The lawmaker described who she once “woke up on the floor of my local bodega, drenched in sweat, being dragged into an ambulance. Two male paramedics hovered over me,” before revealing she had “passed out because of period pain.”
“Even now, every month, I have days where it feels like barbed wire is tightening inside me,” detailed Ansari who went on to argue, “Period pain, endometriosis, and menopause aren’t like getting the flu, where you only feel unwell one or two times a year; they are frequent and recurring. IVF and fertility treatments often last months. Sick leave plans meant for the occasional seasonal cold or annual check-up aren’t designed to cover these circumstances. We need a national reproductive health leave policy.”
With the support of more than two dozen Democrats, the Arizona lawmaker’s bill seeks to mandate up to 12 days of paid leave for so-called “reproductive health needs” including abortions, vasectomies, menopause symptoms and sever menstrual pain.
Aside from the inevitable lawsuits that would ensue from forcing employers to provide PTO for these “needs” the left frequently assert include things like genital mutilation and chemical castration — described as “gender-affirming care” — and the murder of unborn children, the aim of bill was called out for standing in stark contrast to the standard “girl boss” posturing of feminists.
“Ladies, you can’t keep saying men can be women, but then also say that women are a special category,” wrote Rhode Island state Rep. Marie Hopkins (R) on X. “You’ve got to pick a lane. You’re very confusing to the rest of us.”
Im surprised they are not trying make menstruation a handicap and have it fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act…..dang!!! Did i just give them an idea?!?!😅
— Rob Key (@RobKey30502170) June 1, 2026
The eternal feminist claim that women are just as strong and capable as men yet also weak and need special treatment.
— Mark Taylor (@Mark___Taylor) May 31, 2026
So, if this defining what a woman is? Or do trans get to have faux period days too?
How about girls sports? Replace with all trans boys because the ‘real’ girls have periods?
Just wondering how all that works…
— LisainAL (@Lisa8823168) June 1, 2026
If their period pain is so bad that they pass out (which I know can be true) maybe they need to see if there is an underlying issue but not blame the employer for not giving them extra PTO. Small companies cannot afford this. And cycle syncing? They might as well close once a mo.
— Mary Long (@maryflong) May 31, 2026
Everything is violence with the crazy Democrats before it was words now it’s menstruation
— John Mahland (@JohnMahland) June 1, 2026
They’re focusing on their periods instead of protecting girls from men in women’s sports and women’s bathrooms??? Totally dumb and clueless…
— Sabrina Simons (@hssms000) May 31, 2026
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.