With all the screaming surrounding Sandra Fluke and the names that Rush Limbaugh called her, one could easily just ignore the substance and get stuck in the nonsense. Indeed, essentially none of the coverage of Fluke that I have seen deals with what she said, only what was said about her. Indeed, the second biggest area of coverage is about Bill Maher and his million dollar contribution accepted by the Obama PAC despite Maher saying things about Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann that make Limbaugh's comments about Fluke look tame by comparison. It is all outrage and hypocrisy.
Now, however, we should look for a moment at what Fluke actually said. The essence of her testimony was that Georgetown Law School should pay for her birth control costs through the health insurance it offers. According to Fluke, she and other women at that law school spend on average $3000 over three years for such costs, and it is breaking them. According to Ms. Fluke fully 40% of the law students struggle to afford this cost. Let's not comment on Ms. Fluke's morality; instead, let's look at her veracity. Here's the answer: Ms. Fluke is wrong in what she says. Indeed, Fluke's statement is so far from the mark that it appears that Ms. Fluke was intentionally misstating the facts.
Here is what has been uncovered: A month's supply of birth control pills costs $9 at a Target pharmacy near Georgetown. Over three years that comes to $300 not $3000. Clearly, this is not going to break any of these women. Indeed, there are IUD's which cost less per year than $300, and they are about as effective as the pill. And then, for those women who still cannot afford the cost, the DC Department of Health gives out free birth control to all who ask, and Planned Parenthood in DC also makes available birth control to women for little or no cost. In short, Fluke multiplied the actual cost of birth control for women at Georgetown Law School by at least a factor of ten and maybe by thirty times or more.
Now let's look at who these women are. It costs about $200,000 to attend Georgetown Law School over three years. Many students take out student loans; many get grants and scholarships; the remainder pay the full price. Clearly, the group that pays full price can afford $200,300 if they can afford $200,000. Indeed, even for those living on loans, it is hard to imagine that they cannot afford something which is at most $9 per month. Do these students drink? If so, they could cut out two drinks at a local bar and cover the month's cost for birth control pills. They could go to one less movie and cover the cost. They could buy one less blouse or skirt or pair of jeans and cover the cost for six months. One less pair of shoes might cover the cost for a year. Alternatively, they could work one hour per month at minimum wage and cover the cost. Remember, however, that these are not women who will be working at minimum wage. If they were to work as a part-time paralegal in one of the many DC law firms, they could cover their annual birth control costs in half a day at most.
In short, the basic premise of what Fluke said in her testimony is false. Given that reality, let's stop talking about her. She adds nothing to the debate.
No comments:
Post a Comment