Crud, lost my response due to busy server. So you get a short synopsis of what I typed originally.

IMHO, if someone is very out of shape or very overweight, the electric makes sense. They level out hills. If someone is going to need many months to a year or two to get to the point where they can make the commute without a lot of suffering, then it's probably electric or back in the car.

Ideally she could make the commute once or twice on a nice comfy hybrid that fit her pretty well. Most people are surprised at how far they can go on a bike, they've never tried it before. But she will probably be sore for a day or two; that's where having some support, and maybe a ride partner, will help. If she is really suffering, then maybe the electric is a good option. But if she's going to get into shape and be able to make the commute unassisted in a month or two anyway, and can stick with it that long, it's a shame to spend hundreds extra on the electric assist to use it for just a few weeks, then having it do nothing but add weight to the bike.