The “Super Hyde.” What sounds like the latest squirt gun model is actually the nickname for the oppressive, woman-hating bill, H.R.3, or the “No Taxpayer Funding For Abortions Act.”

The moniker draws from the Hyde Amendment, the legislation already in place that prohibits the use of certain government funds for abortions, but takes it more than one step further.

Not only will federal money from Medicaid and other federal programs still be forbidden, but now, in addition to that, the bill includes “any possible funding in the new health insurance exchanges that will be open due to health care reform, effectively banning abortion coverage by all participating insurers,” according to Care2.com, a social action network that connects activists.

This includes eliminating the ability for businesses with health insurance policies covering abortion to get back tax credit, as well as the ability for individuals to deduct the cost of an abortion on their taxes and to use a tax-exempt savings account to pay for an abortion.

But that’s not all, folks! The real kicker is that it will “allow health care providers to refuse to perform an abortion for any reason, even if the woman needing the abortion’s life is in danger,” according to Feministing.com. And the House of Representatives just passed the bill.

As Jessica Valenti, a feminist blogger, published author and the founder and Executive Editor of Feministing.com, wrote in her latest book, The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women:

“There is a moral panic in America over young women’s sexuality – and it’s entirely misplaced. … A combination of forces – our media- and society-driven virginity fetish, an increase in abstinence-only education, and the strategic political rollback of women’s rights among the primary culprits – has created a juggernaut of unrealistic sexual expectations for young women.”

That is to say, since when has ignoring the elephant in the room ever solved a problem? The Republican agenda continues to force-feed the American public offensively naïve sentiments about virginity, abstinence and purity. One of the “best” (and by best, I mean most galling) similes for virginity, of which Ms. Valenti shared on Wednesday, May 5 when she spoke at UW-Milwaukee, is, “Your body is a wrapped lollipop. When you have sex with a man, he unwraps your lollipop and sucks on it. It may feel great at the time, but unfortunately, when he’s done with you, all you have left for your next partner is a poorly-wrapped, saliva-fouled sucker.”

One way or another, this push for purity ultimately manifests into shocking pro-life, or anti-choice, legislation, like H.R.3. The Republican definition of acceptable sex? That which only happens between married people and with the motive of procreation. Anything outside of that renders you a used lollipop, apparently.

The missing piece of the puzzle here, however, is the “why.” Why blatantly persist with radical attacks on women’s rights when, as mentioned by multiple opponents to the bill, they campaigned on economic recovery? Why rally so hard this year for H.R.3, which perpetuates the “War on Women,” when legitimate concerns – like job creation – exist?

“True to form, the House majority has cast a wide net in its attack on women’s health and rights … This move is the height of hypocrisy, because politicians who regularly rail against big government today voted to raise taxes on millions of families and small businesses – merely to stop them from purchasing insurance plans that cover abortion,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, to Care2.com.

The saving grace of the entire situation, however, is that H.R.3 is likely to fail in the Senate, and if for some godforsaken reason it passes, President Barack Obama’s team has already asserted that he is likely to veto the bill. But what really needs to happen now is that instead of fighting against specific instances of legislative bullshit, we need to push for something all-encompassing – the establishment of access to safe abortion as right for every single female.

On February 7, I wrote an article when the bill first came under scrutiny called, “Republicans attempt to redefine rape.” To read this article, please visit: http://www.uwmpost.com/2011/02/07/republicans-attempt-to-redefine-rape/.