Potty parity a good way to show sisterly love

Today, a little potty talk.

The New York City Council has passed a Women's Restroom Equity Bill, which will require a 2-1 ratio of women's stalls to men's urinals and stalls in sports arenas, concert halls, theaters, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues. Philadelphia will consider a similar measure this fall, a gesture of sisterly love if I ever heard of one.

Actually, many municipalities and more than 20 states have passed ordinances and laws that require more realistic potty policies.

Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, raised the issue 10 years ago in Utah. I remember it well because I was in the latter stages of pregnancy with my second child and long waits for the restroom could be nearly as painful as childbirth itself. What can I say? The idea resonated with me.

But as I recall, Allen took some grief for even raising the issue. "Holy cow!" Rep. David Bresnahan, R-West Jordan, told the Associated Press in 1995. "We've got more important issues to deal with in the Legislature than potties."

It makes me wonder if that representative has ever had to accompany a small child to a restroom or aid in their potty training. In those circumstances, bathrooms become a very important quality-of-life issue.

Happily, it's become less of an issue in Utah, which changed the state building code to address the potty parity issue, thanks to Allen. West Valley City's E Center, for instance, has a 60 percent to 40 percent ratio of women's restrooms to men's. I breathe a deep sigh of relief just thinking about it.

It's not a matter of personal hygiene issues. It's a matter of attending to others' personal hygiene. Moms, most often, do the diaper changing and attend to the toileting needs of small children. There's good reason that women take at least twice as long — and as much as five times longer — to complete a bathroom visit as men.

While I applaud the cities of New York and Philadelphia, why can't good common sense prevail? Why must it take a law to come up with potty parity?

Some experts blame old plumbing codes, which didn't envision a time when women would be out and about in public as much as men. As recently as 1993, for instance, there was no potty parity in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Senate. Female senators had to walk to the first floor of the Capitol and line up with tourists to use the public women's restroom. That was remedied when a senatorial women's restroom was constructed adjacent to the senatorial men's room.