News: Limbaugh Remarks Deeply Offensive to Women and Health Advocates

In response to Rush Limbaugh's comments that Georgetown University student and birth control advocate Sandra Fluke is a "slut" and "prostitute" as well as his follow up remarks that she (and other women's health advocates) ought to make sex videos in exchange for contraception coverage, Barbara Weinstein, Legislative Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:

“Public personalities have an obligation to base arguments on facts - not to resort to petty insults. That is all the more true when talking about an issue as serious as health care for women. A direct attack on any private citizen, let alone one who had the courage to make public her personal experiences to stand up for women's health, is deeply outrageous. Jewish tradition teaches that health care is the most important communal service, and therefore should be available to all. We insist that every woman is entitled to access contraception as a matter of basic rights and fundamental God-given dignity. We urge Limbaugh to issue an apology and to retract his statement.

*** The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 1,800 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.