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WASHINGTON, March 7, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Obama told reporters Tuesday that he gave personal support to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University Law Center student who was vaulted to stardom after advocating for the birth control mandate, because the affair caused him to think of his daughters.

“I thought about Malia and Sasha. And one of the things I want them … to be able to do is speak their minds in a civil and thoughtful way, and I don’t want them attacked or called horrible names when they’re being good citizens,” said Obama, as reported by The Hill. “And I wanted Sandra to know that I thought her parents should be proud of her.”

Fluke, the 30-year-old co-president of Georgetown’s Law Students for Reproductive Justice, submitted testimony to Congress last month in favor of forcing virtually all U.S. employers, including her own Jesuit-run Catholic school, to cover contraception. Fluke said that her classmates have “faced financial, emotional, and medical burdens as a result” of the lack of birth control coverage.

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Radio pundit Rush Limbaugh became embroiled in controversy for calling Fluke a “slut” on his show and saying her demand that “she must be paid to have sex…makes her a prostitute.” Limbaugh later apologized for his remarks, saying in a statement that he “acted too much like the leftists who despise me.”

In response to a question about Limbaugh’s apology, Obama declined direct comment but said, “What I can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse. “

Despite Limbaugh’s apology, the media firestorm has not abated, with Fluke brushing off the apology in an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” while media highlighted several advertisers who ended their relationship with Limbaugh. In remarks Tuesday, Limbaugh blasted the president’s double-standard for failing to chastise similar remarks made on the Left.

“Remember Labor Day 2011 … James Hoffa Jr. at an event with Obama on the Tea Party, James Hoffa Jr. told the union to, quote, ‘Take these sons-of-bi**hes out,’ unquote,” said Limbaugh. “Mr. Civility didn’t say a word about it, Mr. Obama said not a word about it, laughed about it, in fact, didn’t he?”

Other conservatives, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), criticized the Democratic party for launching a fundraising push in response to Limbaugh’s comments. Erick Erickson of RedState called the Left’s response to the controversy “an organized campaign by the left to shut down opposing views from the right.”