Sandra Fluke On Rush Limbaugh Controversy: Attempts To Silence Women Have 'Clearly Failed'

In an op-ed published on CNN.com on Tuesday, Sandra Fluke again spoke out about the Rush Limbaugh controversy, stating that the conservative radio host's "attempts to silence women" have "clearly failed."

"These smears are obvious attempts to distract from meaningful policy discussions and to silence women's voices regarding their own health care," wrote Fluke. "These attempts to silence women and the men who support them have clearly failed."

She continued, "Attacking me and women who use contraception by calling us prostitutes and worse cannot silence us."

Limbaugh sparked controversy last month when he called Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" on-air after the third-year Georgetown Law student was denied the opportunity to testify before a congressional panel in support of insurers covering the cost of contraception. The popular radio host's comments provoked national outrage, and led many of Limbaugh's advertisers to pull their spots from his show. Limbaugh issued an apology for his comments, but maintained his opposition to contraception funding.

Fluke has been widely supported by Democratic lawmakers, including President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who both made personal calls to the law student following Limbaugh's comments.

She appeared on CNN's "Starting Point" on Tuesday morning to discuss her op-ed and the controversy surrounding her position. Fluke said that while the personal attacks have made the last few weeks "difficult" for her, the experience has afforded her the opportunity to inform the public on the issue of contraception.

"I think one of the other low points in this process has been the misinformation that's being put out to the public about this debate," she said. "And that's one of the main reasons that I wanted to submit the op-ed, because I wanted people to understand that this is neither government subsidized contraception nor is contraception as incredibly cheap as some people have shared."

Watch Fluke on CNN:

Comments

[evolvedtg]

10:47 AM on 12/30/2012

Thanks rush, for helping to smash down your fellow republicans in November. The more you creeps open your mouths and show rational people how "off" you are, and what you are, the more we are able to get rid of your sickness in this country.

[Vera Gottlieb]

10:21 AM on 03/28/2012

Why even bother with ilk such as this? Because it sells advertisement?

[nazztea]

05:25 PM on 04/05/2012

You mean Rush?

[Vera Gottlieb]

03:50 AM on 04/06/2012

I mean anyone who delights in putting down others for the sake of $$$$ and notoriety. Those who constantly and viciously put down others obviously haven't seen themselves in a mirror lately.

[Sableknows]

10:18 PM on 03/17/2012

Helen Reddy will be proud of her.

[mazio]

09:50 AM on 03/16/2012

Funny. Her (and liberals) attempt to silence Rush has done the same thing.

[nazztea]

05:27 PM on 04/05/2012

Te Free Market is giving Rush what he deserves, Ms Fluke has no hand in it.

[CourtDecisions]

05:17 PM on 03/15/2012

According to the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), the United States Congress does not have the consitutional authority to coerce the Roman Catholic Church to carry insurance to cover contraceptive services that violate the Church's religious dogma. Freedom of religion, like the right to have children, is a fundamental consitutional right. See the case of Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942).

[nazztea]

05:35 PM on 04/05/2012

Exceptions (on the recent White House requirement that employers must provide contraceptives without a copayment in their insurance plans) were made for objecting churches and places of worship, but not for religiously-affiliated organizations like charities, hospitals, and universities such as Georgetown.
The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Catholic Health Association, and Catholic Charities USA all expressed support for the mandate. Georgetown has said it will comply with the new federal regulations, which take effect for most employers on Aug. 1 of this year.

http://georgetownvoice.com/2012/02/23/gu-law-student-denied-testimony-on-contraception/

[DushanRadovic]

04:14 PM on 03/15/2012

Sandra is a less and less sympathetic victim every time she speaks.

[nazztea]

05:35 PM on 04/05/2012

Explain.

[jaggededge]

03:51 PM on 03/15/2012

sponsors still hanging on are: eFOODS-insperity--healthnet--lifelock--fairwinds resort--cavco--dentbusters..those are the ones i jotted down, listening to the screed as long as i could...i'm not adept at social media, so if anyone can get the ball rolling on boycotting these companies (let the free market loose) i'd appreciate the help

[billmsu]

11:15 AM on 03/23/2012

Thank you for listing these companies for us. I will make sure they get my dollars. I will make sure to do business with them now.

[nazztea]

05:36 PM on 04/05/2012

I doubt you have the funds to support them.

[Mariah Dailey]

10:13 AM on 03/15/2012

All Rush did in the end was make her famous. Wait until she graduates, everyone will want to hire her and Rush will hopefully be history.

[quiteinteresting]

09:15 AM on 03/15/2012

C'mon HP you only have two comments pending, and my comment was clean!

[ActaNonVerbaNow]

09:19 PM on 03/14/2012

Attempts to silence women? Let some professor at an "average" university campus teach things (not hateful) at odd with what feminists teach. Then, see him or her get bullied and likely suffer career damage if not career termination. Feminists recently got the Southern Poverty Law Center to explicitly (in some cases) and implicitly label people actively promoting men's rights as members of a "hate group". Critics of feminism have been complaining for decades about anti-male hate speech and actions from the feminist movement, including said hate from the likes of Gloria Steinem, Robin Morgan, and Jane Fonda. Yet, influential feminists have continued to thrive in their livelihoods. I can't stand Rush but any body with a couple brain cells can tell that being able to put a media juggernaut like Rush Limbaugh on the ropes because he called someone bad names is most certainly not a sign of being a "victim" or "weaK". It is a sign of great strength. NEW RULE: Feminists are no longer allowed to pretend they are underdogs in politics between the sexes when they are the ones in control of the discussion.

[TwilightZoneResident]

06:13 PM on 03/14/2012

Five posts on this and only one makes it thru: HP, are you afraid of the wrath of rush?

Just my thoughts

TZR

[mjdloc157]

03:24 PM on 03/14/2012

You got to give this women credit, she just made a life long career of talking about how "upset" she is over Rush's comments

[Cheryl2]

03:40 PM on 03/27/2012

How can you possibly say that when Joe the plumber and Sarah Palin are still around?

[tomp0228]

03:18 PM on 03/14/2012

I wonder how long Obama can continue to pay this girl, before someone complains long and loud enough. Your 15 minutes are way used up, and I'm not a fan of Rush..

[mistahshow]

02:52 PM on 03/14/2012

Me2U2: I don't know why your comment was removed and I certainly see nothing wrong with your comment except for the facts but below is the reply I was going to post to your comment.

Again, you are being disingenuous. You can't blame Obama for the Bush tax cut and the two wars that he inherited and which continue to drain the economy. Take these two out, Obama's deficit is in the billions not trillions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/ezra-klein-doing-the-math-on-obamas-deficits/2012/01/31/gIQAnRs7fQ_story.html

[Daenone]

02:01 PM on 03/14/2012

Rush Limbaugh's sin was using absurdity to expose absurdity. He uses this form of expression on a regular basis but this time he had to stoop way to low in order to meet the level he was able to expose. Thanks Rush for bringing this latest form of social handout to the public's attention.

[nazztea]

05:38 PM on 04/05/2012

What a good Polly Parrot you are, cracker?