Another station dumps Rush

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Associated Press

Associated Press

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A second radio station has dropped Rush Limbaugh’s talk show in reaction to his derisive comments about a Georgetown law student advocating that birth control be covered by the Jesuit university’s health care plan.

Radio station 1420 AM WBEC in Pittsfield, Mass., said Tuesday that it is no longer airing Limbaugh’s show and apologized to anyone who may have been offended.

“While we understand the controversial nature of talk radio and encourage political discourse, we believe there are ways to do that without exceeding the bounds of civility,” the station said in a statement.

Limbaugh called Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” last week after she urged lawmakers consider the importance of contraception coverage in their discussion of national health care policy. He apologized to Fluke on Saturday in writing and discussed it on the air Monday, saying his point was that the 30-year-old was trying to “force a religious institution to abandon its principles to meet hers.”

That was too little, too late for many. A slew of advertisers have left the show and at least one other radio station, KPUA in Hilo, Hawaii, has stopped airing it.