According to 174 members of Congress, a "real rape victim" is one who is assaulted by force. Yes, despite the fact that a great many victims - some experts suggest up to 70% - are raped by intoxication or incapacitation, Congress recently unveiled the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R. 3), a bill that would limit federal abortion funding to victims raped by force.
Federal law already prohibits the use of federal dollars to finance abortions, except for pregnancies that are the result of rape, incest, or pregnancies that endanger the mother's life. But this new legislation, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and 173 co-sponsors, and considered a top priority for Congress by House Speaker John Boehner, limits the federal abortion funding even further. Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown explained:
Under this new bill, the only rape survivors who would be able to receive funding would be those who were able to prove that their rapes involved "force." If your rapist drugged you, intoxicated you, or raped you while you were unconscious, you don’t get coverage. If your rapist used coercion, you don’t get coverage. If this is a case of statutory rape — that is, if you are a thirteen-year-old child, raped by someone outside of your family — you don’t get coverage. If you’re an incest survivor over the age of eighteen — if, say, years of abuse only culminated in a pregnancy after your nineteenth birthday — you just don’t get coverage.
H.R. 3 also redefines abortion funding for mothers who whose lives are endangered. "Endangerment" now only refers to physical threats. Mental health issues are, yet again, marginalized.
As Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post wrote, "'Forcible rape'? The very concept is offensive on its face. How is that even defined? There is no definition in the bill…rape isn't sex, it's violence. But if a woman or girl gets pregnant through incest or rape (in all ways it is defined or understood) the government should not limit her choice by withholding the funding she could use to end the pregnancy -- if she chooses to do so.”
Mother Jones tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who is impregnated by a 24-year-old adult. Under the bill, she would no longer qualify to have Medicaid pay for an abortion. And because the bill also would forbid the use of tax benefits to pay for abortions, the victim's parents wouldn't be allowed to use money from a tax-exempt health savings account (HSA) to pay for the procedure. Nor would they be able to deduct the abortion cost or the cost of any insurance that paid for it as a medical expense. While health insurances costs are typically tax-deductible for employers, under H.R. 3, those that opt for insurance plans that cover abortion will no longer be eligible for the deducation.
H.R. 3 only serves to re-victimize rape survivors by forcing them into unwanted pregnancies. It empowers rapists who drug their victims and who rape women while they’re unconscious, and it empowers rapists who rape minors and family members. None of these rapes would count under this bill, unless they used “force.”
H.R. 3 is yet another tactic in a long campaign to limit abortion rights. Last week, we blogged about anti-choice state governors' efforts to restrict reproductive autonomy.
Make your voices heard by contacting your representatives, especially if they are among the Democrats who have signed on to the bill or Democrats who are likely to speak out against it. But either way, please contact your congressperson – preferably by calling them – and ask them to vote against it. If you’re on Twitter, tweet at Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) and use the hashtag #DearJohn.
- Learn more about Legal Momentum's work for victims of gender-based violence.
- Learn more about Legal Momentum's history of work on Reproductive Justice and Sexuality and Family Rights.
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