The Scoop
If you haven't heard about this craziness, I'll give you a quick glimpse at the recent news story. Basically, she was addressing Congress on the behalf of Law Students for Reproductive Justice to state the organization's viewpoint about the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage regulation. Fluke, a "reproductive rights activist", was taking a stand for women, plain and simple, because we shouldn't HAVE to worry whether our health care insurance will over our contraception or not. (Fluke's statement to Congress last week can be read here.)
In my opinion, it doesn't matter who you are and why you need contraception. Some women need it for medical reasons, while others use it for the obvious reason: to make sure they don't get pregnant. So, for mothers like me, for instance, who have seven children and want to take a break for a while, but don't want to go to extremes and get their tubes tied...what do we do? If our health care insurance won't cover it, then we'll have to figure out how to add the cost of our birth control into our monthly budget.
For people like Fluke's friend, who has ovarian cysts and needs the birth control medication to control them, or another woman who needs it to treat her seizures, contraception is not a choice - it's a requirement!
Her viewpoint has now been turned into a religious and political argument, striking nerves across the country - and even worse: Fluke is being personally attacked and degraded for speaking her mind.
The Bashing
Upon hearing Sandra Fluke's perspective, Rush Limbaugh took her plea to Congress as a ploy to ask the government to fund her college sex-capades. He took it all the way to a personal level; forget the fact that she was representing the views of an entire organization - and women, in general! He called her a "slut" and a "prostitute" and rambled on and on about his assumptions about her personal sex life.
On Wednesday, Limbaugh announced:
"What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke [sic] who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."
On Thursday, the fool went even further with his disgusting comments:
"So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch."
Say What?!?!?!
And he isn't planning to offer any type of apology for his insults. Apparently, though, he did take his words back by adding yet another degrading comment: "OK, she’s not a slut, she’s round-heeled", another way of calling a woman "loose".
Another Idiotic Female Basher
Craig Bannister, a pompous looking dummy at CNSnews, also took Fluke's words out of context:
Then, he went on to quote and twist Fluke's estimated figure of $3000 that contraceptives cost a law student in college:
"At a dollar a condom if she shops at CVS pharmacy’s website, that $3,000 would buy her 3,000 condoms – or, 1,000 a year. (By the way, why does CVS.com list the weight of its condom products in terms of pounds?)
Assuming it’s not a leap year, that’s 1,000 divided by 365 – or having sex 2.74 times a day, every day, for three straight years. And, I thought Georgetown was a Catholic university where women might be prone to shun casual, unmarried sex. At least its health insurance doesn't cover contraception (that which you subsidize, you get more of, you know)."
The two obviously uneducated men are not the only people who bashed Sandra Fluke. As a matter of fact, everyone has a pretty strong opinion about the subject matter at hand, including religious organizations and political parties.
Despite the standpoint, religious, political, or ethical, women need access to contraceptives, and they should not suffer financially. Why are we even debating whether insurance should cover contraceptives or not?
But What It Boils Down To...
It seems a lot of people have missed the point completely. It's not about a bunch of college hussies getting their groove on with funding from the good old U.S. government. According to this article, our government sends hundreds of millions of dollars in so-called "aid" money to Egypt EVERY YEAR, but doesn't want to help women be able to afford the contraception that is essential in life, if not a medical necessity! What is wrong with this picture?
Okay, let's put men in our shoes for a moment. How about that? Jump into our shoes for a few days, to the men who wouldn't know the difference between a maxi pad and a pregnancy test, and let's see where you stand on the subject when you see it from our perspective. We not only have to think about ourselves, we also have to think about our daughters. Excuse me for saying it, but men have no business deciding ANYTHING about women's health. Some of us need contraception to regulate our systems and reduce the pain associated with monthly craps. How can men even relate to that?
Presidential Support
Thank goodness there are men in this world who support women! President Obama actually called Sandra Fluke to ask her if she was OK after the verbal (and emotional) beating that she sustained. He also told her to pass on the message to her parents that they should be proud of her.
Also, Georgetown's president John J. DeGioia backed Fluke up. He wrote in an email:
“She was respectful, sincere, and spoke with conviction. She provided a model of civil discourse. And yet, some of those who disagreed with her position – including Rush Limbaugh and commentators throughout the blogosphere and in various other media channels – responded with behavior that can only be described as misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our student.”
Fluke says They're Trying to Silence Her
Name-calling is generally a way to shut someone up, or embarrass them to the point of making them cower away from their standpoint, right? When you call a woman a "slut", she's probably going to do one of two things: she's going to cower away and hide from the confrontation or she's going to slap you, spit in your face and continue to stand her ground.
I applaud Sandra Fluke for not cowering - for continuing to stand up for what she believes in, what the Law Students for Reproductive Justice believe in, and what women, in general, need someone to fight for. Fluke says that the verbal assaults were "an
attempt to silence me and to silence women in general from speaking out
about their reproductive healthcare needs.
My Opinion & Repercussions
If you feel like I do, you'll be happy to hear that Rush Limbaugh is already getting pounced on. Sleep Train and Select Comfort, two sponsors of his program, yanked their advertising during the program, saying that the things that Rush Limbaugh said did not align with their values. Next to walk were the basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Quicken Loans.
However, here's the deal...curiosity killed the cat. Although "bad press" is not necessarily good, it can sure stir up the curiosity of people, attract them to the show to see what this idiot says next, and that's good for ratings, right? Viewers increase, ratings go up. And, what do advertisers look for? Shows with ratings. Don't watch his show. Don't give him any airtime in your house. He is seriously a sicko.
I don't think men should be able to have any say AT ALL on the subject of contraceptives! Why should they? It's not their bodies! Until "they" come up with a way for men to be the bearer of children and monthly visitors, they need to sit back and let the women vote on female-only policies and mandates!
I am disgusted that the female bashers whom I talked about earlier are even given airtime on television, and especially all over the Internet, for their degrading and asinine comments and I can't wait to watch the beat down that they get for letting their mouths run without thinking of possible consequences. I'm always telling my kids, "Think before you speak." That pertains to big-mouthed idiots on the television and radio, too.
I can tell you right now: the issue of health insurance coverage for contraceptives isn't going down without a fight between extremists across the country.
And, what do you bet Sandra Fluke is going to use her law degree to sue some people, stay in the spotlight to gain more exposure, and then start vying for a seat somewhere in government?
