‘People who menstruate’: Government calls for ‘neutral language’

The issue was raised by the Left Bloc and contested by PSD MP Bruno Vitorino, who demanded an explanation, criticising the wording used by the DGES in the questionnaire on menstrual health. The Ministry of Youth and Modernisation, headed by Margarida Balseiro Lopes, defends the “neutral language” when it talks about “menstrual products”.

The term “people who menstruate” when applied to women is a source of controversy, according to the newspaper PublicThe Social Democratic MP claims that the changes made “come from an ideology that some defend, not from science”. The MP asked the Ministry of Health for clarification, asking “what national legislation or sovereign decision dictates approval of the change of wording to that used by the DGES”.

BE asked Margarida Balseiro Lopes, responsible for the protection of equality, whether the minister “admits to be ‘ultra-conservative’ in her criticism of the use of the wording proposed by the World Health Organization in matters of menstrual health.”

The Minister responded and reaffirmed “the commitment to place the promotion of equality and the fight against all forms of discrimination at the centre of public policy.”

The government also stressed that “neutral language must be chosen to label menstrual products” as the debate relates to “developing policies for people who menstruate, including transgender and non-binary people”.

The Health Ministry responded to the PSD but did not take a position on the language used. The ministry said the Health Directorate is “a body with technical autonomy whose mission is to promote and protect the health of all citizens.”