It’s a biological fact that women and girls menstruate. But try talking about it in public, and people avoid the topic out of shame or sensitivity. On Thursday, a panel of state lawmakers who want to eliminate the stigma associated with the female monthly period approved a package of bills that would make tampons and pads available without cost in schools, homeless shelters and through public assistance programs in New Jersey. “It is estimated that almost 17 million Americans who menstruate live in poverty,” said state Assembly Women and Children Committee Chairwoman Gabriela Mosquera, D-Glouc…
