SAXTON - Saxton native and 1999 Tussey Mountain High School graduate Sandra Fluke became well-known after radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh called the Georgetown Law School student a "slut" and a "prostitute" in March after she spoke before House Democrats in support of their health care policy the month before.
The supporter of President Barack Obama will speak out again at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., from Sept. 3 to 6.
Fluke will try to solidify Obama's support among women during her speech, a Democratic official, who demanded anonymity in order to speak candidly about plans not publicly released, told The Associated Press.
A spokeswoman for Fluke declined to comment Wednesday.
"We don't wish to comment other than to say that we are proud of our daughter," Fluke's mom, Betty Kay, said Wednesday.
Fluke's parents, Betty Kay and Pastor Richard B. Fluke II, live in Saxton.
Tussey Mountain School District Superintendent Mark Bollman said he had heard last week about the district's former student speaking at the upcoming Democratic convention.
"I was impressed by it," he said. "She should be proud of it coming from a small town."
Fluke reached out to voters through an email she signed that was sent out through Obama's campaign Wednesday.
Standing with Obama is the "clear choice for women in this election," Fluke said.
"President Obama has told us what he's fighting for: 'I want women to control their own health choices, just like I want my daughters to have the same opportunities as your sons,'" Fluke said. "Republicans, led by [Mitt] Romney and [Paul] Ryan, have made it clear that they want to make our decisions for us. President Obama trusts us to make our own."
She also responded to Republican Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's remarks about rape and pregnancy.
"This controversy is not an accident, or a mistake, or an isolated incident," she said. "It's a reflection of a Republican Party whose policies are dangerous for women."
Romney and Ryan "tried to distance themselves from the remark - but the fact is they're in lockstep with Akin on the major women's health issues of our time," Fluke said.
She cited such matters as the Republican Party's vote Wednesday on a Human Life Amendment to its platform, "calling for a constitutional ban on abortions nationwide, even for rape victims."
The Human Life Amendment is "good news for those of us who value life, not good news for the supporters of Planned Parenthood," Blair County Chapter of Citizens Concerned for Human Life President R. Thomas Forr Jr. said.
Republicans are urging Akin to drop out of the race.
Forr said he believes Akin misspoke and meant, "every life has value from the moment of conception."
The matter was blown out of proportion, he said.
Romney's wife, Ann, is expected to counter an accusation that the GOP is waging a war on women during the Republican National Convention taking place Monday through Thursday.
"Why would there be a war on women? We love women," Forr said. "There's no war on women."
The party is "trying to protect women," he said.
He pointed out an increase in divorce and abuse against women in the last few decades.
As for Fluke, Forr said, "she is in the mainstream of most of the Democratic Party members."
"They have chosen to be a party strongly in favor of abortion and handing out funds at the taxpayers expense for purposes most Americans would disagree with," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Gabeletto is at 949-7030. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
