Law professors in the state wrote to the Texas Board of Law Examiners last month, highlighting a national plea from nearly 3,000 law professors, lawyers, recent graduates and law students calling for all US examinees to be allowed to bring menstrual products.

One woman told the Texas Tribune that she “felt like an outlaw at the bar exam” because she smuggled her own menstrual products in to the exam room in defiance of the ban.

Susan Henricks, executive director of the Texas Board of Law Examiners, insisted that the board does not intend “to discriminate unfairly against any person or group”.

Examinees sitting the exam in September will be allowed to bring tampons and pads provided that they are kept in a clear plastic bag, the Houston Chronicle reports.