College student testifies at birth control hearing

>>> one told of us how embarrassed and just powerless she felt when she was standing at the pharmacy counter and learned for the first time the contraception was not covered on her insurance and she had to turn and walk away. because she couldn't afford that prescription.

>> that was georgetown university student sandra fluke, the woman you didn't hear from last week's house oversight hearing on contraception coverage. after being barred by chairman darrell issa , last week, she was the sole hearing today at a hearing called by democrats. sandra fluke joins me now. thanks so much for being here, sandra . i appreciate it.

>> thank you for having me.

>> so talk to me about why you were there today. you were obviously barred from the hearing last week. what were you really trying to get across to members of the democratic party there, nancy pelosi , elijah cummings , and miss moloney?

>> well, i really wanted the members of congress and the public to hear the voices and the stories of the women who are affected by the lack of contraceptive coverage and how much this regulation means to all of us and to all of them. and i hope that's what came through in my testimony and i just really hope that people understand how very, very important this critical health care need is.

>> one of your criticisms, you said, was that women 's health was with being used as a political football , but this is a recess week in congress. this is a hearing by the democratic steering committee, really done for political reasons. do you feel like you yourself have been used as a political football in all of this?

>> let me be clear, i don't feel like anyone has treated me as a political football . it was very discouraging to see women 's health being treated that way previously, but i'm glad to see that america is paying attention to women 's concerns at this point. and if you want to hold a hearing on a sidewalk outside, i'll show up to talk about women 's health. so i don't think that the forum could be criticized in that way.

>> talk about georgetown university . you're a third year law student , and this is something that i went to boston college and you see in a lot of catholic universities , is you have a large group of women who use birth control, want contraceptive coverage, but they're not able to easily access it by campus means. how much of that, do you think, though, is put upon the student? they knew they were going to a catholic university , or do you think it's a universal right to be had by all women ?

>> well, for starters, i want to clarify that women who attend these colleges and don't have insurance coverage can't get it on campus and can't get it off campus. so this is not just a campus issue. but beyond that, i was a woman who chose to go to the a jesuwit university and i did that because i thought they could offer me the best education possible. and that is a choice all women should have, not have to choose between their education and their health care . we deserve to have both.

>> sandra fluke, you're very passionate. thank you so much for joining us this morning. we'll probably hear from you in the future, i suppose. good luck.

>> thank you for having me.