Sandra Fluke

Whether you love her or hate her, it’s unlikely you’re ambivalent about Sandra Fluke. After Republicans shut the 31-year-old Georgetown law student out of a Congressional hearing about insurance coverage for birth control earlier this year, she testified before a House Democratic panel — much to the horror of Rush Limbaugh. Since then, Fluke has become a target of horrible sexist insults from the far right and a hero to many on the left. But, causing partisan bickering was never her intention, she told the Huffington Post. “I certainly don’t want to be a polarizing figure, and I don’t try to say things that are polarizing — I just try to say why these are important to my generation and to me, and evidently that’s upsetting for some people to hear.”

Of course, Fluke wasn’t asking the government to pay her to have sex — the charge many critics lobbied against her. She was speaking on behalf of a friend who needed the pill to control ovarian cysts, not to prevent pregnancy. After that firefight in the so-called “War on Women,” Fluke began campaigning for President Obama and other Democratic candidates. And she doesn’t just talk about birth control. But, she told the Huffington Post she’s not sure whether she’ll run for office. “It’s something I would think about,” she said. “It’s becoming very clear to me that we need more young women in office, and that running for office is one of the ways we can advance issues, but it’s not what I’m focused on right now.”


Photo: PatrickMcMullan.com