When Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke spoke out for women’s health before a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee four months ago, she came under fire—and Mitt Romney stayed silent. This morning, Sandra published an editorial on CNN.com expressing her support for President Obama and the progress he’s making for women.

In the aftermath of [the] attacks, I was heartened by the many Americans of all political stripes who reached out to me and supported me. They knew that whether we agree or disagree, as Americans we defend one another's right to speak before our elected officials without enduring personal attacks.

[President] Obama responded as so many Americans did, by condemning those attacks as antithetical to our democracy.

Romney, when pressed to address those attacks, could only say, "Those aren't the words I would have chosen." If Romney lacks the leadership to stand up to extremists in his own party, then he's not the president we need. At a time when women's rights especially are under virulent attack, we cannot elect a leader who won't or can't stand up to those extremists and protect the rights that generations of women have fought so hard to ensure.

Thankfully, we don't have to. We have a president who has consistently shown he will defend those rights while working to ensure that all women and men have all the protections and opportunities they need to pursue economic success.

But if we're going to keep Obama in the White House, we need to get involved, get out the vote and do what Romney refuses to do on everything from fair pay to women's rights: speak up. I'll never stop speaking up, and I hope you'll join me.

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