Sandra Fluke, the law student Rush Limbaugh labelled a “slut,” wrote an op-ed Tuesday on CNN.com. In it, she reacted to the controversy surrounding her testimony before the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, where she defended access to contraception. The Huffington Post reports:
“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.
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