Sandra Fluke said Rush Limbaugh has not called her personally to apologize for referring to her as a “slut” and a “prostitute” last week.
Fluke, a Georgetown law student who testified last month to Democrats about the new contraception mandate in the healthcare reform law, also said she wouldn’t welcome a personal call from Limbaugh.
“No [he has not called],” she said during a Monday appearance on “The View.”
“And let me be clear that I think his statements on the air have been personal enough about me so I'd rather not have a personal phone call from him,” she said.
Limbaugh issued a statement over the weekend apologizing for using “inappropriate” language in his remarks about Fluke and the contraception mandate.
"For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week," Limbaugh said in his statement. "In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke."
But Fluke said she doubted Limbaugh’s sincerity given the pressure he is facing from advertisers.
“Especially when that statement was issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support from his show,” she noted.
During his show on Monday, Limbaugh insisted he was sincere.
Fluke maintained that Limbaugh’s remarks were “an attempt to silence” her on the issue of the contraception mandate.
The new healthcare mandate requires employers to provide contraception to employees in their insurance plans without a co-pay or deductible. Churches and houses or worship are exempt from the rule. Groups and businesses affiliated with religious institutions also do not have to provide the coverage, though their employers must be able to get it through the employer’s insurer.
Limbaugh argued last week that Fluke wanted to be “paid to have sex” in arguing that contraception should be available under the healthcare law.
“She wants to be paid to have sex,” Limbaugh said on his conservative radio show last Wednesday. “It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute.”
Sensing a political advantage, Democrats pounced on the comments and President Obama called Fluke on Friday.
Obama and Democrats have sought to turn the fight over the mandate into an issue of contraception and women’s rights and not an issue of religious freedom. Limbaugh’s marks have helped them do so.
Fluke called Obama “very kind” for the call.
