How tear gas may be wreaking havoc on protesters’ reproductive health

September 10, 2020

Picture by: MARANIE R. STAAB/AFP/Getty Images

Thanks to a growing movement against policing, this summer has been largely defined by its uprisings. Across the United States, people have taken to the streets to uplift the names and lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Local and federal governments have not held back in their attempts to quell dissent. As a result, police have blinded people, federal agents have detained them, and numerous protesters have been hospitalized.

Many photos of protests share one key feature: a thick, foreboding cloud of tear gas hanging over the crowd. Tear gas, classified by the United Nations as a chemical weapon, is so common that people often head to protests with gas masks or homemade solutions like a bandana soaked in water. But while tear gas’s immediate effects are unpleasant enough — including crying, running noses, and vomiting — some protesters say it has damaged their reproductive health.

Read full article at Mic