Democrats seek to capitalize on contraception controversy
Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University shakes hands with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as Rep. Elijah Cummings looks on.
/ Alex WongHouse Democrats on Thursday sought to capitalize on the controversy surrounding the government's role in providing contraception to women, holding a high-profile discussion on the matter and asking supporters for money as soon as the talk was over.
Led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats held a pretend hearing while Congress is not in session to listen to the views of a third-year Georgetown Law student and activist who was not allowed to attend a Republican run hearing on the matter last week.
Sandra Fluke, who leads a reproductive rights group at the university, was barred from testifying at the February 16 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee because the Republicans said she was unqualified. Instead, the panel heard from five men, all of whom are opposed to insurance companies providing coverage for contraception. A secondary session of five panelists did include two women.
Immediately after the conclusion of Thursday's fake hearing, Pelosi sent an email to supporters from the party's campaign arm seeking financial assistance ahead of an upcoming filing deadline with the Federal Election Commission.
"The Republican War on Women must come to an end," Pelosi wrote, "help us raise $1 million by Wednesday's deadline to send an overwhelming message that we will not stand for the Republicans' anti-woman agenda."
Rep. Elijah Cummings said holding a hearing on contraception without any women would be like holding a hearing on prostate cancer without any men--he would not take it seriously.
Fluke, the only witness at Thursday's session, objected to characterizations that she is not qualified to speak before lawmakers on the matter.
"I'm an American woman who uses contraception, so let's start right there. That makes me qualified to talk to my elected officials about my health care needs," she said.
Specifically, she said contraception can cost a woman over $3,000 dollars, which she pointed out is about the same amount of money a law student could expect to earn over the course of a summer.
And she said contraception is not just used for birth control, but also for other health issues including the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome and even seizures.
No Republicans attended the mock hearing.
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I would say it's a bad thing if the Democrats position themselves pro-feminist. Any party that positions itself anti-equality like that will lose my vote.
This is why President Obama elected to do this. There was no real emergency for "free" contraceptives. Democrats created this controversy to move the eyes and ears of Americans away from their failures.
We hate women. Give me a brake. How about we think we are not animals that have sex with out responsibility. But mybe Dem's are saying that no one can control thier selfs. Or mybe thinking before sex and mybe protecting yourself agianst all that goes along with it. The more they talk ,the more i believe nothing matters to them is sex and social programs.
SKYK- you moron, are you still posting your fiction and Leninist propaganda? There is no issue with birth control...NADA ..nothing. It is nothing but a lie by people like you..................
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You are an AMAZINGLY stupid cretin.
Your beloved Repugs have been arguing about this for WEEKS.