At a hearing before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, Sandra Fluke said:
"Without insurance coverage, contraception, as you know, can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school. For a lot of students who, like me, are on public interest scholarships, that's practically an entire summer's salary. 40% of the female students at Georgetown Law reported to us that they struggled financially as a result of this policy."
Now this alone might not make her notable, since she is just a private citizen who testified at a single hearing during a Congressional recess, but a firestorm of controversy erupted when conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called her a name. Additional, she has thrust herself into the public eye, most recently speaking at the Democratic National Convention, and is considered a poster child for the Democratic party.
Can contraception cost a woman over $3,000 during law school?
Do 40% of female students at Georgetown Law struggle financially to pay for contraceptives?
I know that these are two claims (and normally, they should be separated), but they are both highly related. Both are about the affordability of contraceptives to women in law school. The first question is technically true, it can cost $3,000. (Example: I could spend $1 million on transportation by purchasing a Bentley for each day of the week to take me to law school). This is really a question of if this claim is true, how much contraception would you have to use to spend $3,000, and is this a reasonable amount (i.e. see Bentley transportation). The second question is related to the first, and is a function of how much money it costs for contraceptives for women. Is $3,000 (assuming that is true) an amount of money that someone going to Georgetown Law school would struggle paying?
