This may be old news, but I read today that our state intends to require student athletes to report their menstrual history including age of first period, date of most recent period, length of time between periods, etc. It’s been justified by saying other states have long required similar reporting and it’s a way to determine if nutrition is adequate.
I had no idea that such information has already been required and wonder who has access to it and how it’s used. My initial reaction was, Oh {bleep} no! The only parent quoted in a local paper’s article was a dad of a student attending a Catholic school in another state who was just fine with the requirement. I wonder how his daughter, or the other young women, feel?
I have never heard of this, and do not support it.
By doing this some girls would also have to make it known they are on birth control. For example many gals with a Nexplanon implant don’t get their periods, and many gals who take the pill skip the inert week/always take active pills so they don’t get their periods.
Frustrating. Another ridiculous decision probably made by the white male patriarchy.
Menstrual history is not the best means of evaluating nutritional status. Requiring an annual physical with an annual hemoglobin would be a better way of determining this. Really, menstrual history is the business of the athlete and her doctor, not the State.
I’d love to know who will be okay with this plan. There is no way it will be enforceable and if it makes it into law, it will be on the Supreme Court docket, pronto. Where it will, presumably, be struck down…or not.
I’m not sure it would be struck down. This current supreme court has determined that there is no inherent right to privacy and that the state can litigate control over your body already as long as it does not violate an explicit constitutional right. So, for example the state can ban laser eye surgery, or plastic surgery or whatever you want. At least that’s my interpretation of the case that struck down Roe v Wade. They did not rule that a fetus was a human protected by the state, they ruled that the individual did not have a right to control over what goes on their body unless it was explicitly listed in the constitution.
I was angry when I heard, but then I realized…Pennsylvania has had similar questions on its sports physical forms for at least a decade. It has probably been longer, but the questions were there when my kids started playing high school sports 10 years ago.
The Pa physical form asks if the athlete has had a period, age of first period, how many cycles in the past year, and if the student is pregnant.
I embarrassed to admit that it never occurred to me to question anything.
No but they check to see if the male genitals are “normal”.
All these questions are part of the physical examination preparticipation form for highschool sports. The form has been in use for 20 years. It is not new. The questions about menstrual cycle were marked “optional” and it was proposed by the athletic assoc. to change it to make it mandatory. Hard to tell who has access to these forms.
I recall having to answer questions about menstrual history over the years, and looking back, there was not always a legitimate reason for the questions to be asked. Of course, my generation accepted as “the way it is” many things that were not acceptable. I would hope that rather than expanding intrusive questions that are unnecessary for the situation, we would actually be questioning the need for those questions and eliminating them if we find that there is no medical need. Perhaps there is a medical professional reading this thread who could enlighten us as to whether there might be an actual medical need for the questions? And if so, recognizing that the answers are simply a snapshot in time & they can change the next day, should young women be required to report any changes? I ask these questions sincerely, but I cringe to think that any of this is okay.
The questions are valid. But between the person and their doctor. They shouldn’t be on a sheet that can be looked at by anyone. On the physical forms I’m familiar with, most are check boxes “within normal limits/WNL.” Should be the same for the menstrual section. If the doctor clears the athlete for participation, that’s all the athletic department needs to know. If there are concerning issues, they shouldn’t be cleared.
The state that is requiring this is banning gender affirming care for teens and most abortions, this is a political issue because the question is how is the school and the state going to be using this information.
Guess this varies by state and these forms have been around a long time! First time I even considered where the information may land.
Looks like most states have the same forms for the physical but some have it as a two part form–one more complete for the physician who keeps it as a patient record and another similar looking part that goes to the school clearing the athlete for participation or any restrictions. This as a two part form seems reasonable (at least to me).