Chris Smith Will Tell You When You’ve Been Raped, Ladies

Chris Smith—the far-right, anti-choice zealot of a congressman from central Jersey—has proposed legislation to further restrict the use of government funds to pay for abortion services. As is, federal dollars can only be used in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is endangered. But to Smith, who knows better than you silly women what to do with your bodies, this is entirely too liberal a policy, as it allows women who, say, were raped after being roofied, or children who were the victims of statutory rape, the ability to use Medicaid funds to terminate their pregnancy. Instead, Smith’s legislation, which has been overwhelmingly endorsed by the forced birthers of the Republican House caucus, would only allow government funds for rape cases in which force was used.

Other rapes, you see, don’t count.

Oh, and this is even better: If your 13-year-old gets knocked up by, say, a 40-something child predator, Smith wouldn’t even allow you to use funds from your own tax-free Health Savings Account to pay for her abortion. Also: Incest only qualifies if the victim is under 18 years old. Per Mother Jones:

“This bill takes us back to a time when just saying ‘no’ wasn’t enough to qualify as rape,” says Steph Sterling, a lawyer and senior adviser to the National Women’s Law Center.

Another element in Smith’s bill would penalize private insurance companies that cover abortion services. Remember when Republicans opposed government getting in between you and your doctor?