Sandra Fluke responds to Rush Limbaugh

>> we want you to post your videos on-line so we can all watch. a woman impregnant nated through rape should accept the gift of human life .

>> accept what god has given you and make the best of the situation. these aren't our words they are all things by prominent members of the republican party .

>> that's from a video released from move on.org yesterday. joining me is the woman rush limbaugh 's words were aimed at, sandra fluke. thank you for joining me.

>> thank you for having me.

>> michael moore and i were talking about you in the break and we have both marvelled at the way you have handled yourself during this controversy surrounding you was forced on you by are rush limbaugh . in that marveling, i have to ask you what in your life has prepared you for this? obviously nothing prepared you specifically for these kinds of attacks but you have held your ground and dignity so marvelously throughout. it has been extraordinary to watch.

>> thank you very much. i don't know that there's anything in particular that has prepared me for this. i will say i was always taught to stand up for others and for what i believed in, regardless of whether or not it was popular.

>> >> we're a couple of weeks in to this controversy that's been going on around all of this. what do you think the points are that are getting lost in too much of the noise that's been made around this.

>> the entire point. the policy point which is what i have always been trying to talk about and there's certainly a lot of misinformation that's been circulating about this being a taxpayer program where taxpayers or the government was going to pay for contraception. that is untrue. this is a program about private insurance. it has nothing to do with government funding. the government does and should pay for contraception access for the very poorest women through programs like medicaid, but it is important to be clear that this policy is not about that. this is about an insurance that women pay for through their own premiums through their employers and their universities.

>> sandra , i'd love for you to respond to the laiftest said on fox news on o'reilly just tonight. listen to this.

>> here's the bottom line . you go to wal-mart, sams club or neighborhood market for instance. any of these pharmacies you tonight have to be a member of these places you go in and pay $9 a month sghchlt is that true.

>> $9 a month.

>> that $100 a year.

>> go ahead.

>> i'd like to share the response of a woman who saw some of that type of coverage and e-mailed me because it upset her very much. she actually has a genetic condition and she's unable to use cheap forms of contraception, less expensive forms because of her genetic condition . for her, her contraception costs $ 1200 . the point really is that different women have different kinds of medical needs and that requires them to use different forms of contraception. some are more expensive than others. what this policy does is make sure all women have access to the health care they need.

>> this is about a decision that needs to be made with an individual doctor concerning the needs of an individual patient. so, it's not something for sam's club to decide who can use the cheapest possible product out there.

>> absolutely.

>> sandra , where do you think this goes from here? and where do you go from here in the center of this storm?

>> well, for me, i'm just continuing to try to talk about the policy aspects of this and how this regulation will give american women affordable access to a basic health care need that they have. the new york observer recently called me relentlessly wonky so i guess that's what i am. that's what i'm trying to focus on and i hope the debate turns to that rather than these irrelevant personal topics about my history.

>> sandra , a bloomberg poll shows a majority of the country is with you, 53% saying rush limbaugh should be fired for the words he used about you and i think importantly in that poll, 30% of republicans, 30% of republicans think that rush limbaugh should be fired for that. does that surprise you?

>> no i guess it doesn't gres surprise me. as i have said in the past i completely understand why people are upset about that type of rhetoric and that type of attempt to silence women. it seems they are making their voices heard regarding that.

>> does it feel like you took some heat and because you have taken it and survived it with rush limbaugh that this probably will not happen to someone coming along in your situation in the future?

>> i sincerely hope that is the case that no other woman has to go through this. i really do hope that.

>> sandra fluke, you have been a model of dignity throughout this entire controversy and i want to thank you very much for joining us tonight. i'm glad you got the last word.

>> thank you for having me.