Fluke fires up crowd about women's rights at DNC

CHARLOTTE -- Sandra Fluke told women at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night that the right to choose means choosing President Obama for re-election.

"I'm here because I spoke out, and this November, each of us must speak out," Fluke told the primetime audience in Charlotte.

The Georgetown law student rose to national fame earlier this year when conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh made inflammatory comments following her Capitol Hill testimony in favor of increased contraception access. Since then, Fluke has shown up on the campaign trail and cable news speaking on behalf of Obama's re-election. She's considered among the Obama-Biden campaign as one of their strongest surrogates for rallying the base.

In her DNC remarks, Fluke warned that a Romney-Ryan victory in November would result in "an America in which states humiliate women by forcing us to endure invasive ultrasounds that we don't want and our doctors say we don't need," referring to controversial legislation in Virginia, requiring women seeking an abortion to first undergo a vaginal ultrasound.

Fluke spoke about her main cause, women's access to affordable birth control. She made the case that that Republican men want to control access to contraception, as convention-goers waved signs reading "Our Healthcare Choice Vote".

Fluke championed Obama's healthcare reform law, telling delegates and viewers because of Obama, "no one can charge us more than men for the exact same health insurance." Democrats at the convention and on the campaign trail have embraced the term "Obamacare" in recent weeks, referring to the Affordable Care Act passed into law in 2010.

Last month Fluke introduced Obama at a campaign rally in Denver, telling her story and getting the crowd excited.

"President Obama had my back, he has your back. Now, we need to have his back," she said.

At that event, she made the case that Republicans would take women's rights back, to which Obama thanked her for her remarks, saying "She was brave to stand up for herself, and an eloquent advocate for women's health. And I suspect she's going to be doing some even greater things as time goes on."