A slut? A prostitute? Are these names that a woman should be called for expressing her beliefs in a formal, lawful way? On February 9, 2012, talk show host Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke these exact words over the air on his radio talk show.
Limbaugh based his comments on Fluke’s testimony the previous week, stating that there should be insurance coverage of contraceptives for women.
Fluke had been asked to speak in front of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and proceeded to argue in favor of a private mandate for contraception coverage, and to include institutions with moral objections to contraception as well. She said that during the time spent as a law student, birth control could cost $3,000 or more.
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She also stated that 40 percent of Georgetown Law School’s female population suffered financial hardship as a result of birth control not being covered by the student health insurance plan.
She continued that the lack of free contraception coverage in the university insurance plans would induce many low income students to go without contraceptives. She then shared the stories of friends affected by such policies, to add a personal aspect to the stand she was taking.
Yet, after hearing the above testimony, Rush Limbaugh felt quite differently about the matter and took the liberty to state, nationwide, his feelings of Fluke and her beliefs.
“What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke, 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. What does that make us?” Limbaugh said.
In the simplest of terms, the immaturity displayed by these comments is overwhelming. A grown man absolutely tearing apart a young woman, educated from the Law School of Georgetown, for having a stern belief on a matter that she had to deal with, and pay for herself through college and that wants to see change in regards to it.
The goal of every young American should be to make change. We have to strive for something that will strengthen us and that will make any aspect, small or large, of our lives a little easier. Sandra Fluke went before a committee that deemed her adequate to speak before them and stated her beliefs. She did not criticize, she did not display hatred, and she did it in a formal, logical way. She was representing the women of all ages that struggle to pay for contraceptives and that struggle to have safe sex.
Limbaugh showed his old, stubborn outlook on life; when he indirectly denied the fact that young women have sex. He shunned Fluke for even thinking for a second that the government and health insurances would ever help out women with contraception. Is Limbaugh showing his disbelief that four out of every ten pregnancies are unplanned in America alone?
Every man or woman is entitled to their beliefs. Right or wrong, kind or hateful, that is what our country has been based on. The right to free speech and the freedom to hold faith in what we may choose.
But when given the power of the radio and knowing that you have the most listeners in the country, the things you say have a much more powerful effect on the belief of the public.
To insinuate that a woman has sex for money, is a slut, and wants to be paid by tax payers to have sex, crosses more boundaries than one can count on their two hands.
But at the end of the day, with sponsors lost, the president in opposition, and a fleet of lawyers ready to strike, America is taking its stand against misogynist, vitriolic, and hate-filled Rush Limbaugh.
Luke Flood can be contacted at lflood@keene-equinox.com