Last weekend, Representative Walsh said he was "offended" by me, a "life-time student," and that he wanted me to stop acting "entitled" and "get a job." He explained that it wasn't my fault because my generation has been raised this way and doesn't know how to take care of ourselves.
Over the last seven months, I hope I've made it clear that I won't let personal attacks (or lies about my professional history) stop me from fighting for the policies I believe in. But I also won't stand by when a U.S. Representative blatantly misrepresents a policy that benefits struggling women in this country, or when he disparages my generation.
I testified before members of Congress not because "I wanted the American people to pay for my contraception," but because I wanted the private insurance that women pay for themselves to cover the contraception they need. I was there to tell, not my own, but the story of a close friend who, despite paying her deductible, lost an ovary when she was unable to afford the contraception her insurance failed to cover, but that she needed to treat her polycystic ovarian syndrome.
My friend was not alone. Hart Research Associates found that 55% of young women ages 18-34 report having had difficulty affording the contraception they need to treat medical conditions or to prevent unintended pregnancies. That's no surprise when you realize that for some women contraception can cost as much as $960 per year ($1,210 with the doctor's appointment), according to the Center for American Progress.
But what if I had been there to ask that the government help fund contraception? Federal programs like Title X exist to guarantee the poorest women in our communities affordable access to birth control. Those programs are under attack in Congress and by Gov. Romney, but they're good public policy. They ensure that all American women can control the timing of when they start a family, not just more privileged women. That allows women to set the course of their lives, pursuing their educational dreams and career goals, and allowing the rest of us to benefit from all that they accomplish. Not only do those policies help us create a more equitable society, they prevent unintended pregnancies that can add to the strain on our society's safety nets.
Rep. Walsh and many conservative voices would reduce that sound public policy to evidence of my generation's "entitlement," our reliance on "government [to] take care of [us]."
But my generation doesn't deserve to be labeled 'The Entitlement Generation.' We've supported Title X and fought for the Affordable Care Act's contraception policy, not necessarily because we believe we are automatically entitled to them, but because our vision for the future doesn't leave our fellow citizens behind. We've stood against Representative Ryan's budget attacks on Pell Grants, food stamps, housing assistance and Medicaid because we believe in a future in which we come together as a society to help those who are struggling financially, not one in which we tell them that they're on their own. This isn't about not knowing how to take care of ourselves -- it's about knowing we should take care of each other.
Yet, we're not entirely altruistic either. By fighting to protect our nation's social safety net, we ensure that all members of society have a chance to contribute, producing a diversity of ideas that benefits society as a whole. We've seen that affordable access to contraception allows women to contribute their talents to our companies, and the same is true of the host of economic supports under attack. Without President Obama's investment in Pell Grants, over three million additional students (nearly ten million total) might not have been able to afford to attend college last year. The majority of Pell Grant recipients are students of color from economically depressed backgrounds, so we know exactly which perspectives and voices the rest of us would be deprived of.
So we agree that "we've got Americans who are struggling." Our question is why so many elected officials have only one answer for them: cutting their safety net while telling them to "go get a job." My generation is looking for better answers than that.
Sandra Fluke is an activist for women and women's health and a recent graduate of the Georgetown Law Center.
Follow Sandra Fluke on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SandraFluke
David Katz, M.D.: Ragging on America?
Entitlement Generation, meet Ironic Generation.
Although, I seriously have my doubts...
A lot of women actually use contraceptives for reasons OTHER than avoiding pregnancy, e.g. - to control certain hormonal disorders and so on.
A lot of women using the pill ARE actually in committed relationships. Just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you want a kid then and there. If someone uses contraceptives and isn't in a committed relationship, why is that your business anyway? Isn't that better than unwanted pregnancies, stds, etc.
BTW, read some statistics on teen pregnancy and STDs in places where there is abstinence only education and get back to me, lol. People (yes, even conservatives!) will never stop having sex just because people like you want to get on your high horse.
There is a reason our Founding Fathers chose to keep our government out of the hands of the church. They knew that the church always becomes a dictatorship in any country it has been able to control.
The Republican politicians have chosen to follow the dictates of their churches rather than the dictates of America's citizens. The Republicans and their church alliances are day by day taking away our freedom and our rights while subjecting us to their basest moral values.
Republicans are so full of hatred; they show themselves to be no different than the rapacious religions of Europe's past. Republicans want to force 2000 years of Christian cruelty on us and take away our freedom and equality.
In all if my years I have never witnessed a more hateful group of people, saying they are working for the good of the people while doing everything in their power to hurt everyone.
Every Republican politician should be brought up on charges of sedition, sabotage and treason.
You are describing the actions of all Republican politicians.
Science proved correct again!