Dear Rick Santorum, You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

[toddwv]

You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile.

Why am I quoting a famous line from Fight Club to Mr. Santorum, Republican presidential hopeful? Because it seems relevant and very a propos considering Mr. Santorum's sanctimonious stance on other peoples' personal reproductive choices.

You see, Mr. Santorum is a "pro-lifer". He "believes" that life begins at conception, that abortion should not be legal in any case and that doctors that terminate pregnancies should be criminally charged. Or so you'd think if you hear him talk about it.

“I believe that life begins at conception and that that life should be guaranteed under the constitution. … I believe that any doctor that performs an abortion should be criminally charged for doing so. I’ve never supported criminalization of abortion for mothers, but I do for people that perform them,”

Of course, his circumstance is "different". His wife's life is unique and not subject to the onerous ideology that he professes. Apparently, in 1996 during the second trimester of his wife's pregnancy, the fetus became infected after an operation to remove an abnormality and a doctor was forced to terminate the pregnancy by inducing labor in order to save Karen, Rick Santorum's wife.

In the 19th week of her pregnancy, Karen discovered during a routine exam that the fetus she was carrying had a fatal defect and was going to die inside of her. A long-shot surgery was performed that required cutting directly into the womb. It carried a high risk of infection and was performed not to save the fetus, but to reduce Karen’s complications while she attempted to go full term.

Two days later, she became severely feverish. She was rushed to the hospital and placed on intravenous antibiotics, which reduced her fever and bought her some time, but could not eliminate the source of infection: the fetus.

Karen was going to die if her pregnancy was not ended, if the fetus was not removed from her body. So, at 20 weeks, one month before what doctors consider ‘viability’, labor was artificially induced and the infected fetus was delivered. It died shortly thereafter.

They named it Gabriel Michael Santorum.

OUR ABORTION WAS DIFFERENT: WHEN THE ANTI-CHOICE...

So am I wrong? Is Mr. Santorum a beautiful and unique snowflake?

 

[tessaesque]

I can't watch the video. Does he specifically mention that in situations of life or death he still rejects abortion?

 

[ecofarm]

It was her life vs. the child's. The constitutional guarantee stands. A simple balancing of rights here, self-defense. The kid doesn't live if she dies, it cannot claim self-defense in killing her.

Karen was going to die if her pregnancy was not ended,

 

[tessaesque]

Also:

1. The baby had a fatal flaw, which means it was going to die at some point.
2. The surgery wasn't done to repair the flaw, but to allow for the possibility of carrying to full term.
3. If the mother had died before the baby made it to term (when it would have died), the baby still would have died.
4. This is a no-win situation for the family. They're going to lose their child either way, and then there's a risk of losing the mother, too. Even the most religious of my friends wouldn't have stood on religious morality in that scenario They recognize that if the fetus has no chance, it's worth it to try to save the mother.

 

[ecofarm]

life should be guaranteed under the constitution

Notice he escaped the "where's that right in the constitution?"

Watch out for that. Next thing you know you're quoting the preamble...

 

[digsbe]

I find this classless. Virtually no pro-life individuals (myself included) supports making it criminal to abort when the life of the mother is in danger. I think it's incredibly wrong to try and warp this tragedy to try and call Santorum a hypocrite over the fact that his wife had to induce labor because she would die from a disease her unborn child had. It's extremely dishonorable.

 

[tessaesque]

I find this classless. Virtually no pro-life individuals (myself included) supports making it criminal to abort when the life of the mother is in danger. I think it's incredibly wrong to try and warp this tragedy to try and call Santorum a hypocrite over the fact that his wife had to induce labor because she would die from a disease her unborn child had. It's extremely dishonorable.

Thank you for phrasing it so well. I couldn't come up with anything that I didn't think would get me thread banned or infracted.

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

If there is some proof that Senator Santorum believes that abortion should be a criminal offense even when the mother's life is endangered, then I will accept this as a legitimate attack against a hypocritical and unforgivable political position. Until I have seen such proof-- because I refuse to believe that anyone holding such an opinion could ever be elected to high office-- I am forced to assume that this is the worst example of exploiting a politician's personal tragedies to score political points as I have ever seen, and that the person who wrote this is the lowest form of human filth imaginable.

 

[digsbe]

According to OnTheIssues, Santorum voted to protect partial birth abortion when the woman's life is at risk. He also supports abortion in cases of rape and incest.
Rick Santorum on the Issues

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

Moderator's Warning:

Sorry for closing this. It was accidental.

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

Santorum Calls Abortion Exceptions To Protect Health Of The Mother ‘Phony’ | ThinkProgress

It would appear that I was wrong.

 

[toddwv]

I find this classless. Virtually no pro-life individuals (myself included) supports making it criminal to abort when the life of the mother is in danger. I think it's incredibly wrong to try and warp this tragedy to try and call Santorum a hypocrite over the fact that his wife had to induce labor because she would die from a disease her unborn child had. It's extremely dishonorable.

He's the one that made it personal when he brought it up in an interview. In the past, Santorum was a bit more moderate in his views allowing for exceptions to a total ban in cases where the life of the mother was in jeopardy.

He has since turned a hard right and seems to be trying to position himself at the "moral" front. You don't find that dishonorable or incredibly wrong?

 

[tessaesque]

He's the one that made it personal when he brought it up in an interview. In the past, Santorum was a bit more moderate in his views allowing for exceptions to a total ban in cases where the life of the mother was in jeopardy.

He has since turned a hard right and seems to be trying to position himself at the "moral" front. You don't find that dishonorable or incredibly wrong?

I find attacking the death of his infant son as a means to make a political point utterly disgusting.

 

[pbrauer]

I find attacking the death of his infant son as a means to make a political point utterly disgusting.

If the story is true, he's a hypocite. Do as I say, not what I do.

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

OUR ABORTION WAS DIFFERENT: WHEN THE ANTI-CHOICE...

Santorum Calls Abortion Exceptions To Protect Health Of The Mother ‘Phony’ | ThinkProgress

When I was leading the charge on partial birth abortion, several members came forward and said, “Why don’t we just ban all abortions?” Tom Daschle was one of them, if you remember. And Susan Collins, and others. They wanted a health exception, which of course is a phony exception which would make the ban ineffective.

His wife's induced labor was in 1997. His statements concerning abortions of medical necessity date as recently as June 7th of this year.

 

[tessaesque]

If the story is true, he's a hypocite. Do as I say, not what I do.

Technically, what happened with his wife wasn't an abortion.

And whether it was or not, bringing his dead baby into it doesn't need to happen to prove the point. His words were hypocritical on their own. This is just a lowbrow, disgusting attempt to smear him and it wasn't necessary.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Technically, what happened with his wife wasn't an abortion.

What's the technical difference?

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

I find this classless. Virtually no pro-life individuals (myself included) supports making it criminal to abort when the life of the mother is in danger. I think it's incredibly wrong to try and warp this tragedy to try and call Santorum a hypocrite over the fact that his wife had to induce labor because she would die from a disease her unborn child had. It's extremely dishonorable.

So you value the life of the mother over that of an innocent baby?

 

[tessaesque]

What's the technical difference?

A partial birth abortion involves terminating the baby's life before it exits the birth canal, and there is no active labor. From what I understand, Santorum's wife was induced and the baby was born live and died some time in the minutes after birth. The child was terminal and had a severe infection, so even if they had tried to go to term the baby would have died in the same manner, IF it made it to term.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

A partial birth abortion involves terminating the baby's life before it exits the birth canal, and there is no active labor.

Not all abortions are partial birth abortions

From what I understand, Santorum's wife was induced and the baby was born live and died some time in the minutes after birth. The child was terminal and had a severe infection, so even if they had tried to go to term the baby would have died in the same manner, IF it made it to term.

Some abortions are conducted via the induction of labor
induction of labor