In Indiana, candy bars are classified as a necessity, meaning they are exempt from the state’s sales tax. Yet, period products – items that so many people need to function in their daily lives – are subject to the sales tax because they are considered a “luxury” product. While the tax on menstrual products is not a new concept, the momentum against the period tax has grown, resulting in 26 states plus Washington D.C. that have ended the tax on period products. There are another five states that do not have a state sales tax. 

In fact, Indiana has the highest sales tax on period products in the nation, at 7%, and some legislators want to see this changed. In the 2025 legislative session, Sen. Shelli Yoder authored SB 173, which aims to remove the state’s tax on period products.  

For decades, people who need menstrual products have been forced to pay a “luxury” tax on items that they cannot boycott or stop buying. For the more than 1 in 4 Hoosiers that are considered to have an income below the self-sufficiency standard, the state’s additional 7% tax can put these products out of reach.   

A 2023 survey revealed that approximately one in four teenagers who menstruate in the U.S. cannot afford menstrual products. This lack of access often prevents them from attending school or work, placing these vulnerable youth at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers. While eliminating the period tax would be a step in the right direction, additional measures—such as providing free menstrual products in school restrooms—are essential to fully address this issue. 

In 1981, Minnesota was the first state to overturn the state’s sales tax on period products, followed by Pennsylvania a decade later.  

The elimination of the period tax did not pick up speed until 2016, when Illinois and New York ended their own period taxes.  In the 2023 legislative session, Texas was a notable state to overturn the tax, followed in 2024 by South Carolina. This brings the total number of states that have eliminated their peroid tax to 26. It’s time for Indiana to join them. 

Another area where Indiana needs policy reform, is incarcerated Hoosiers’ access to menstrual products. 

Inside Indiana’s prisons, access to these products is tenuous, putting incarcerated people in an impossible position. According to the Indiana Department of Corrections' Manual of Policies and Procedures; 

“No offender shall be required to go without the basic hygiene items, as found in the personal hygiene kits and including toilet paper and feminine hygiene items in female facilities, solely due to lack of funds to purchase these items. Facilities are not required to provide replacement hygiene items to offenders who choose to spend their funds on commissary items that are not essential or required for the offender’s well-being.” 

In other words, the Indiana Department of Correction is required to provide menstrual products only if the person who is incarcerated can’t afford them — but if the person were to buy a fan, bag of chips, or a pair of socks and are left without money for period products, then they must go without them.  

On top of this, incarcerated people are subject to disciplinary action "if their hygiene deteriorates because of a lack of access to period products by purchasing items “not necessary for personal well-being.” With all these stipulations, it is important to note that many prisons supplying period products rely on donations, so even if a person qualifies for supplied products it does not mean they will receive them.  

While reform in Indiana prisons is desperately needed, we support SB 173 as a critical first step, because eliminating Indiana’s period tax is a matter of gender equality.  

The period tax is a textbook case of discrimination, and our state legislature owes it to every Hoosiers to alleviate this extra, unnecessary financial burden.  

Update: House Bill 1444, repealing the aid and abet provision in SEA 480, was not given a hearing in the Committee on Public Health. While the bill failed to pass in 2025, bills with similar language may appear in future sessions.

As a family medicine doctor, I see patients from all ages, demographics, and walks of life.  
Many of my gay and transgender adult patients have shared stories about how a lack of support during their formative years led to struggles – both mental and physical – that lingered well into adulthood. 

LGBTQ+ youth need the support of their societies, peers, parents, schools, and physicians. Unfortunately, state law ties my hands – and those of my colleagues – from helping young transgender people receive live-saving health care.  

Indiana’s Gender-Affirming Care Ban Especially Dangerous 

The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a case regarding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The case will have implications for providing care in Indiana. However, Indiana’s law differs in one crucial way – it contains “aid and abet” language that curtails medical providers’ free speech and duty to protect their patients.  

We know that some families are travelling out of state to seek gender-affirming care, but the youth’s primary care doctors are prohibited from communicating with the out-of-state doctors. Because this section of the law is so broad, “communicating” is understood to mean referring a family to an out-of-state provider, sharing the youth’s medical records with that provider, and sharing or receiving information about current care with those providers – including potential health concerns. 

This prohibition has devastating consequences. For example, if one of my patients were in this situation, I could inadvertently prescribe medication that interacts with their treatment. In addition to any psychological harm a delay in treatment may cause, I run the risk of putting my patients in physical danger if I’m not aware of their ongoing prescriptions. 

This kind of restriction is unheard of in other areas of medicine — whether it’s cancer treatment, cardiology, or any other specialty.  And no other profession — lawyers, business leaders, blue collar workers, etc. — faces a ban on discussing their work across state lines. 

Rep. Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette) has introduced a bill that would repeal the “aid and abet” provision of SEA 480. As a physician, I support this bill.  

Addressing Misconceptions About Gender-Affirming Care 

I often find myself dispelling misconceptions, half-truths and lies about transgender people. 

There’s a widespread belief that children are undergoing immediate and drastic medical interventions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gender-affirming care for minors is a cautious and gradual process.  

For pre-pubertal children, it involves nothing more than social support: allowing them to express their identity through clothing, names, and pronouns. When and if medical intervention becomes appropriate, it is approached with care and deliberation. The medications prescribed during puberty are potentially lifesaving, and also low-risk and reversible. With regard to surgical interventions, in a lawsuit challenging Indiana’s law, the court noted that no Indiana providers performed such surgeries even before the ban was enacted. 

The Impact of Indiana’s Aid and Abet Provisions 

While the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether states can restrict access to hormone therapy for minors, Rep. Chris Campbell’s HB 1444 is common sense legislation that would restore the First Amendment rights of Indiana doctors and improve care for youth receiving out-of-state services. 

Standing alone, the aid and abet provisions of the law don’t prevent anyone from receiving care. All they do is diminish the quality of care a youth receives. That isn’t good public policy. It’s just cruel. 

These barriers to life-saving care stand contrary to the values I hold as a physician and as a Hoosier. We physicians now face managing the repercussions of stripping vital care from children who are suffering, and who know we could have done better by them. My heart also breaks for parents who have lost the right to decide what’s best for their children.  

Moving Forward 

As a physician, I’ve committed to using my platform to educate and advocate. Advocacy begins with awareness. I’ve found that many of my colleagues and friends—even those who share my values—are unaware of the specifics of these laws or the realities faced by transgender individuals. The more we engage in honest, compassionate conversations, the better equipped we are to challenge harmful policies and support those who need us most.