Rick Santorum is a dangerous madman, part 1

When I was pregnant, a routine ultrasound discovered a heart problem with my son. The doctors recommended an amniocentesis to look for Downs Syndrome or any other genetic problems that can be related to the heart. We wanted this information so we could get ourselves, and our healthcare providers, prepared for whatever issues our child could be facing.

If Rick Santorum has his way and eliminates amnios as an insurance-covered procedure, thousands of women would have to forgo the test, unless they are able to pay out-of-pocket. But the cost of an amnio ranges from $500-$1000, a hefty sum, especially for a pregnant woman.

In my case, the amnio confirmed that there were no genetic problems. I was relieved and focused on finding the best care for my son. Without the test, I would have spent the remainder of my pregnancy wondering what else might be wrong with my baby. Instead, I met with surgeons and made treatment decisions knowing that we already had complete knowledge of what we were dealing with.

Rick Santorum sees amniocentesis differently:

"Amniocentesis does, in fact, result more often than not in this country, in abortion." Santorum during a CBS News interview in February.

and...

"The bottom line is that a lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in utero, and the customary procedure is to encourage abortions." Santorum on Face the Nation.

The fact-checking site, PolitiFact, proved that these statements are actually false.

It's true that some women may have an abortion after receiving the results of an amnio. That's their right. But many women get the results, find out about a problem like Downs, and use the next few weeks as a time to educate themselves about what to expect. They find resources and support groups that can help. They use the time to reframe their ideas about parenthood and have a chance to mourn the loss of the child they expected while preparing to embrace their special baby.

Rick Santorum would take that away from most women because some may abort. He would punish us all to prevent other women, who may have a horrible prenatal diagnosis, from getting an abortion.

You might also be interested in reading Rick Santorum is a dangerous madman, part 2, which details how Santorum insults and alienates ethnic groups.

Rick Santorum speaking to students at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Gage Skidmore

Rick Santorum is a dangerous madman, part 2

New Yorkers—The next stop on Rick Santorum’s alienation tour

I don’t know what shocks me more—Rick Santorum’s beliefs or the fact that, as someone who needs to win over voters, he feels it’s a good idea to share his ideology, even when it trivializes and belittles whole groups of people.

I am, by no means, a political expert. But I imagine that most politicians try to encourage voters by befriending them and making nice, so-to-speak. As Santorum blazes a path of prejudice across the country, I’m surprised there is any one left who hasn’t been offended by him at some point during his campaign.

Since his feelings about women and gays are well-documented and will likely be the focus of a future blog post, I’m skipping them for now. Instead, here is a rundown of the communities who should think twice before voting for Santorum.

**UPDATE: I was barely finished this blog post when Rick Santorum gave me more material. Santorum was in Puerto Rico to campaign, but he also shared his thoughts on what Puerto Rico needs to do to become a state. Although Puerto Ricans, as a whole, are divided about where or not they even want to become a state, Santorum let them know that they need to speak English before joining the United States. "As in any other state, (Puerto Rico) should comply with this and every other federal law -- and that is that English must be the main language.”

The problem is, there is no federal law that lists English-speaking as a requirement for become a state. Perhaps this is one of Santorum’s own laws. Who knows, there could be ten more arbitary laws just waiting to hit the books if Santorum is elected.**

New Yorkers—just last week in an interview, Santorum stated that the reason he gets criticized for his value-based ideals is because of "the media, who live in the New York area. Because they don't know anybody or very few people who share those values, so they just assume the rest of the country is like them." I know plenty of New Yorkers with strong values, even ones who are in the media.

Black people—Santorum recently said that he doesn't want "to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money." Interesting that he singled out black people as recipients of government aid since, statistically, there are more non-blacks receiving welfare. Santorum, for the record, addressed these remarks. He would like us to believe he actually said “blah” people. But he didn't, he said “black”.

Protestants—speaking to a Catholic audience in 2008, Santorum said that "Protestantism in this country, and it is a shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it." I'm not even entirely sure what that means, but it's obvious that Santorum is not a big fan of Protestants.

Muslims—when asked about profiling in November 2011, Santorum indicated the act should be done to "the folks who are most likely to be committing these crimes. If you look at -- I mean, obviously, it was -- obviously, Muslims would be -- would be someone you'd look at, absolutely."

The only people left who might vote for Santorum seems to be white, male Catholics. Sooner or later though, Santorum is sure to support a bill banning Viagra since its main purpose is to aid erections which, like contraception, is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

You might also be interested in Rick Santorum is a dangerous madman, part 1, which explains why he's stand on amniocentesis and abortion is wrong.