Caitlin Yilek (The Beacon)
By Caitlin Yilek, Staff Commentary
When a Republican House committee chairman denied Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke permission to speak on the contraceptive coverage rule at an early February House hearing, Democrats planned their own unofficial event at which Fluke talked about the importance of having contraception services covered under government-required healthcare plans.
Last Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh branded the law student a "slut" and a "prostitute" on his radio show for publically advocating that employers should cover contraception in their insurance plans.
Limbaugh claimed Fluke's "having so much sex she's going broke buying contraceptives."
He continued: "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. We want you to post videos online so we can all watch."
Fluke's testimony was not as Limbaugh claimed. In her testimony, Fluke told the story of a friend who had an ovary removed because her health care plan would not cover the birth control she needed to stop the growth of ovarian cysts.
On Saturday, after several longtime advertisers withdrew from his program, Limbaugh issued an apology – sort of – to Fluke, saying it was not a personal attack on the 30-year-old.
"I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress," he continued. "I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities."
Well, Mr. Limbaugh, women have been paying for your gender's sexual recreational activities since 1998. Within weeks of hitting the U.S. market, more than half of Viagra prescriptions received health insurance coverage.
Some conservatives may claim that erectile dysfunction is a medical condition, while birth control is a choice. Though men may not always have the choice to get it up, they do have the choice to take Viagra with the intentions of having sex.
Limbaugh's apology doesn't cut it for me. Nor do the responses from current Republican presidential candidates.
In response to Limbaugh's comments, Mitt Romney said, "It's not the language I would have used," while Newt Gingrich criticized the media for focusing on Limbaugh's words instead of the greater contraception debate. Rick Santorum noted that the comments were "absurd" but "justified because he is an entertainer."
The Republicans' softball response sends a message of tolerance of sexist behavior towards women.
This certainly is not how I want the future leader of my country to act.
