During February, more rights were put at risk of being taken away from women in Florida. For the past 20 years, Florida high school athletic registration forms had made the menstruation section optional. Florida recently was involved in a debate about whether or not high schools should require student athletes to publicize information about their menstrual cycles. This included when a student’s most recent period was, how many they’ve had in the past year, and more. However, the matter was voted on decisively, and the regulation will not be passed into law. 

While the questions seemed to be a safety precaution to ensure that students were in good health, Florida wanted its school districts to have access to this private information. In the hands of the Florida government, some worried that the data was destined to be misused to support its own goals.

The Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) board was suggested to take on a national form in which menstruation information must be disclosed, or the individual would not be able to participate in the sport. The difference between the national form and that of Florida, is the place where this information is being kept. The national forms followed the standard that a student’s medical information is to be kept between that individual and their doctor. On the other hand, Florida was pushing to have this confidential information turned into the school. The association claimed that this was necessary information to have access to in the case of a medical emergency.

Further controversy arose in terms of where the medical information would be held. Parents worried that their child’s data would be put at risk of being leaked or stolen if transferred online. If the regulation had been passed, these forms would be stored with a third-party privately owned software company called “Aktivate.” This would’ve posed a threat to the confidentiality of private documents. Although claiming that the data stored on Aktivate was secure, it turned out that law enforcement could’ve easily gained access to it through a subpoena. This put girls’ personal information at risk of being used against them. 

Just last April of 2022, governor Ron DeSantis passed an anti-abortion measure that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, incest, or trafficking. If the court had access to a student’s menstrual information, this could have potentially been a way for them to convict students if they suspected they had an abortion after the 15 week limit. Critics argued that this proposed new rule was merely another way to regulate women’s bodies.

Questions also arose in regards to transgender athletes. Governor DeSantis also passed a bill that banned trans female students from competing on girls’ sports teams. Once again, opponents of the regulation saw it as a reinforcement of that bill. Transgender athletes would encounter the risk of either outing themselves or not being able to participate at all. If unable to disclose menstrual information, that student would have to compete on the team that matches the gender that they were assigned at birth.

Last Thursday, February 9th, in a 14 to 2 ruling, the FHSAA voted in favor of removing these questions from athletic forms altogether. This is a small win for all women in Florida, which was much needed after the past year.