Sexism is at the heart of Trumpcare – so why won't my fellow liberal men call it out like they did the Muslim travel ban?

The bill defines pregnancy, rape and domestic violence as 'pre-existing conditions' which will make insurance premiums skyrocket – but male-only conditions such as erectile dysfunction don't affect insurance at all

Remember the outrage caused by Trump's controversial “Muslim ban” order and his plan for refugees? Remember the massive street protests and level of outrage such policies caused and the major demonstrations that took place across the country? World leaders came out to denounce the policies as inward-looking and bigoted. Comment pieces abounded about how unacceptable they were.

Yet this week the most disastrous piece of legislation for women's health imaginable – Trumpcare, or the American Health Care Act, as it’s officially known – was passed by the House of Representatives. Shamefully, the level of outrage, street demonstrations and genuine opposition reached nowhere near the same levels as we saw when Muslims and refugees were the targets.

Make no mistake: this new piece of legislation specifically disadvantages women. In fact, at the heart of it lies the idea that being a woman is a chronic medical condition and a liability. Through an amendment to the AHCA, introduced by Republican Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, insurance companies will be able to charge women more if their medical histories include “pre-existing conditions”, including pregnancy, a Caesarean section, infertility treatment and postnatal depression. It will allow states to define sexual assault and domestic violence as “pre-existing conditions”.

Many of the pre-existing conditions that could lead to people paying more for their healthcare will disproportionately affect women. In addition, the bill prevents the use of federal tax credits for any health plan that includes abortion coverage, making it harder for women to have affordable abortions, having an even greater impact on women and families from low income. While simply being pregnant can lead to a woman’s insurance premium skyrocketing, male-only problems such as erectile dysfunction will not be counted as “pre-existing conditions”. This is simple sexism.

While Republicans gleefully shook hands and celebrated in the rose garden, many others could not believe the calamity unfolding before their eyes. Opposition and protests are taking place, yet it had me wondering why it hadn't caused the same level of outrage as policies directing affecting Muslims and refugees. Why haven’t our MPs and political leaders treated such a bill as an affront to humanity and queued up to condemn it? Why are some of my fellow men, who were so vocal and critical of all other policies emanating from Trump, not so vocal now?

The sad reality is that sexism is so normalised we rarely ever bother to question it. Whether it be everyday sexism or institutionalised sexist policy, the bar for tackling sexism seems to have been set much higher. We don’t challenge anything unless it’s such undeniable, outright misogyny that to ignore it would be impossible. Some men have come to believe that as long as you yourself don't treat women badly or hold sexist views, that’s all that matters. But that isn’t enough in the age of Donald Trump.

Irrespective of how decent many men may well be, we all have a moral responsibility to do something about it. It’s not simply good enough to show that we personally abhor Trump’s views and policies. We have to talk about how sexism underpins his plans for healthcare across America.

Put simply, the failure to stand up to misogyny and sexism and not to treat it as one of the most pressing human rights concerns of our generation goes against our common humanity. The fact that so many can afford to be selective about their outrage as the world's most powerful man chooses to treat women with contempt shows that there is so much more to be done in the fight for equality. The reaction to the American Health Care Act is evidence of that.