Republicans promised us jobs. They promised solutions for our broken economy. But now that it’s time to deliver, what is number one on the agenda? Redefining rape.

That’s right, folks. House Speaker John Boehner has decided to make redefining rape a top Congressional priority.

Enter H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. The goal is clear, the name a bit more misleading. Since 1976, thanks to the Hyde Amendment, the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion has been severely limited. Under the Hyde Amendment, the only abortions that may receive taxpayer funds are those that result from rape, incest or a pregnancy that endangers the life of the woman. 

This new bill, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith with 173 mostly Republican co-sponsors — just 16 of them women, seeks to expand the Hyde Amendment restrictions. Under the proposed legislation, companies that offer health plans that cover abortions would be denied tax credits, and anyone with insurance that covers abortions would be barred from receiving federal subsidies — even if the abortion portion were paid separately, with personal funds.

But let’s move past the insurance debate, and focus on the most universally offensive effect this legislation seeks to impose — the redefinition of “rape.”

Essentially, this bill says that the only way to justify an act as “rape” is if it is “forcible.” That is to say, the existing rape exemption, that allows taxpayer funding in the case of rape, is now only an exemption for “forcible rape.”

And the incest exemption? It’ll only be valid if the victim is a minor.

I guess, as a woman, I should just be grateful that, if I don’t pass these new rape and incest tests, the bill at least preserves the resources available to me if a pregnancy puts my life in danger. Somehow, I do not find much comfort in this.

Of course, we’re not talking about the legality of abortion — we’re talking about under which circumstances federal assistance may apply to abortion. But we’re talking about Medicaid, which is what makes many medical procedures and resources available to poor women. Restricting Medicaid coverage for abortion is taking it from the hands of women whose low income already makes them vulnerable.

So what is “forcible rape?” No one seems to have an answer. “Forcible rape” is not defined in the federal criminal code, and this bill offers no suggestions. How much force must be involved for a rape to qualify?

Does the victim need to have visible bruises or broken bones?

What if she screams? How loud must she scream before it is determined that her rapist forced himself on her? If she eventually falls silent, does that mean she wants it?

What if she can’t do any of these things, because she was drugged? What if she was coerced? Incapacitated in some other way?

Under H.R. 3, it sounds like “no” is no longer enough.

Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., one of the bill’s few Democratic co-sponsors, said in a statement released to Talking Points Memo, “The language of H.R. 3 was not intended to change existing law regarding taxpayer funding for abortion in cases of rape, nor is it expected that it would do so.”

If that’s the case, then why not let the existing language remain in place? Why add the word “forcible” to the rape exemption, and why limit the incest exemption to those under the age of 18?

Plain and simple, this is an attack on women’s rights. The fact that 16 Congresswomen are lending their support to the bill does nothing to contradict this fact; men and women are equally capable of sending us back to the age of the “utmost resistance” doctrine, under which a rape verdict was only reached if it was determined that a woman had resisted as hard as she physically could.

Female rape victims can take some comfort in the unlikelihood of this bill becoming law, thanks to a Democratic Senate majority and a pro-choice president. But it is not enough to simply prevent this bill [updated from “law”] from making it into the books. It is time to speak out against lawmakers who think they can quietly change the definition of rape, when one in six women and one in 33 men have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

Republicans promised jobs. They promised to balance the budget. But now, the best they care to offer us is a purely symbolic stab at the poor women of the United States.