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Life endangerment, rape, or incest — this language originates from the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions, but for these three exceptions. This ban includes Medicaid and Medicare, and also restricts persons who receive health care through the federal government, including federal employees, military personnel and veterans, Native Americans, federal prisoners and detainees, Peace Corps volunteers, and low-income District of Columbia residents. Numerous states have also adopted this model of denying women, transgender men, and non-binary people the care they need. Generally, these states prohibit abortion coverage through state-exchange insurance under the Affordable Care Act, through public employee insurance, or through public health safety net programs — except in the cases listed above. Even more troubling, some states prohibit private insurance abortion coverage, with some even removing rape or incest exceptions.

For those of us in the reproductive justice movement, it is this very language that sets our resolve to ensure that everyone, regardless of their economic status, gender identity, age, race, or geography, can access abortion care.

Right now is the perfect time to revisit, reexamine, and condemn these policies.

Amidst a global conversation around #MeToo, waves of women, once too afraid to seek justice, are finally naming their sexual abusers. The #MeToo movement has given crucial support and voice to those who have been silenced because of how society — law enforcement, the judicial system, media, and the public — punishes women who speak out against their abusers.

Yet here, legislators are the abusers, forcing women to disclose perhaps their most private information in order to obtain permission to terminate a pregnancy resulting from trauma. Some states require proof of rape through a police report, submitted within a certain number of days of the attack. Others require a doctor’s note — sometimes two. Lawmakers continue to impose these oppressive proof requirements despite statistical evidence that, because of fear and stigma, rape and sexual assault go unreported more often than they are reported. Proving incest is even more difficult, as fetal tissue is not easily tested for paternity — and who pays for that? Personally, I can’t imagine telling my doctor, “I need this abortion because I’m pregnant as a result of incest.” I can’t fathom begging for a doctor’s note under these conditions. No woman should have to. Aside from the indignity and absurdity of these requirements, they also delay time-critical treatment; the longer a woman must wait, the more costly and complex her abortion.

These Hyde-inspired mandates are unequivocally sexist, misogynist, and paternalistic. Sexist, because such laws undermine women’s autonomy based on sex. There is not a single medical procedure where a cisgender man must prove rape or incest in order to obtain care. Misogynist, because they require proof from law enforcement or a doctor, rather than a woman’s own voice, demonstrating legislators’ distrust of women. And paternalistic, as governance by largely male legislators over women’s bodies presumes that we cannot govern ourselves.

These policies are also classist and racist, as they most harm poor women and women of color. Native American women, who are subject to federal Hyde restrictions and are often treated on reservations, are twice more likely than others to experience rape. Black women are less likely than others to report rape and sexual assault, though nearly a third will be victimized in their lifetimes. In states without these exceptions, women must travel for treatment – which many can’t afford. Abortion costs can be prohibitive to low-income and homeless women, who must either find funding or be forced to give birth, which can push them further into poverty in a country that refuses to provide adequate safety nets for single mothers and poor families.

There’s also this: Forcing a woman to give birth to her rapist’s or abuser’s child can force her to repeatedly relive the assault. Rather than experience this, some women will attempt self-administered abortions, which may (but need not) involve risky or ineffective methods.

Sexual abuse, assault, and harassment — too long permitted, even required, in our patriarchal society — are exacerbated by sexist legislation like the Hyde Amendment, and state restrictions on abortion funding that mimic Hyde. As we move forward in reshaping our social and political landscape toward a safer and more equitable future, we must also change the legal landscape. No woman should be forced to forfeit her body again, to birth the child of her attacker or abuser against her will. No one should be forced to divulge or prove sexual violence to qualify for or obtain access to the medical care they need. Our humanity — not a doctor’s note, or a police report — is proof in itself.

We must continue sharing our lived experiences, educating our peers, running for office, supporting each other’s campaigns, voicing our votes in unity, and holding our legislators accountable — whether as champions or perpetrators — once in office. Every. Vote. Counts. We must demand change from our legislators, or it will not come. This is our job as citizens. These laws can and must be rejected or rewritten, to give every person — regardless of social status, location, gender identity or race — the ability to control their own reproductive choices, free of interference from autocratic political gatekeepers.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of If/When/How. If you like what you read, consider dropping a few bucks in our tip jar.