This weekend, at a Christian Alliance luncheon in Columbus, he said that government shouldn’t make health care providers fully cover prenatal tests like amniocentesis. I believe he is also opposed to birth control pills being “free” or as it is known in the real world, ‘a covered benefit’.
“One of the mandates is they require free prenatal testing in every insurance policy in America. Why? Because it saves money in health care. Why? Because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has to be done, because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society.” He added that the requirement was “another hidden message as to what President Obama thinks of those who are less able.”
This is just so strange.
First, prenatal testing in not “free”. Insurance is not “free”.
Second, prenatal testing could lead to someone choosing to terminate a pregnancy, but it also leads to not having an ‘unpleasant surprise’ at delivery. Lots of intrauterine problems can be managed and even treated during the pregnancy. Other problems may require that special staff be present at delivery- say a pediatric cardiologist, etc. That’s the point of prenatal testing- to determine if there is a problem that need attention.
Third, what does Obama have to do with any of this?
Now, Santorum has a child with Trisomy 18. It was probably detected through prenatal testing and his family chose to continue the pregnancy and care for their ill daughter. More power to 'em. They also have the money and resources to do so comfortably and I do wonder if the Santorums use any government benefits to cover her care since most desperately ill babies qualify for Medicaid and sometime SS benefits. In any case, I would support any family that chooses this path and would also support any family that chooses any other path- that is their private decision.
But I though he presents himself as one of those ‘small government’, ‘freedom from government tyranny’ types. Why does he continue to try to intrude upon and micromanage my private reproductive decisions?
Well, we know for a fact that at one point he was using government benefits and receiving free government health care (when he was in Congress). Yes, they were employee benefits, but he still suckling at the government teat.
Keep it in perspective. Remember whatsisname, Green, the unknown Dem who ran for Senate in SC? That’s stupid – or, rather, perhaps, just an average American shlub, but that’s still stupider than Sarah Palin or Dan Quayle, stupider than any pol who has risen to Santorum’s level can be. Politician-stupid is still pretty damned smart. Even dumbass W had degrees from Yale and Harvard.
As was discussed in the case of the Onion “Abortionplex” story, this is something that so fits the worldview of the voters his strategists want to attract, something that those voters expect to be a fact of a “godless” society, that they’re willing to throw it out so it sticks. See also: Death Panels.
And that’s giving him credit for being a manipulative cynic. The alternative is that he IS one of those people who indeed DO lend credibility to any claim of the absolute worst about any liberal-dominated society (e.g. that the purpose of insurance coverage for prenatal testing is to maximize abortions) and he DOES believe that euthanasia must be rampant in the Netherlands because, “that IS what godless liberals WOULD do! Isn’t it?” Which is not “stupid”, it’s delusional.
His statements this last weekend do seem to reinforce the notion that he sincerely believes that liberal Christianity is not just different but flat out “wrong” and false, but from that to just making up statistics is not a trivial step.
The impression I’ve always gotten from Rick Santorum is that he is a True Believer. I suspects that he believes the 10% line, not because he’s an idiot (I don’t think he is.), but because it confirms his world view. We all tend to believe things like this, if it reinforces our world view. That’s just human nature.
I also don’t think that Rick Santorum would ever deliberately lie. And that’s about the only good thing I have to say about him.
Indeed, everyone in this thread immediately believes that Rick Santorum would say such a thing, because it confirms our world view about conservative Republicans in general and him in particular. Not that I doubt he said it, of course, but I’m just pointing it out.
Well, we believe he said it, primarily because of the video evidence. However, there are some folks, who believe he’s an idiot, because that would reinforce their worldview.
It’s true. I’m steadfast in my belief that people who don’t take 30 second out of their life to fact check something that sounds ridiculous are idiots.
This was my thinking exactly. For him, if abortion is accepted and not done “in the shadows”, then from there’s a direct path, via slippery slope, to involuntarily euthanizing the elderly (or infanticide, or eugenics, etc). For him, this isn’t some theory, it’s what he Believes. When he heard there’s a place where it’s already happening, it fit so neatly into his worldview, he probably didn’t even consider it might be bullshit.
Well, almost my thoughts exactly. I do think he’s an idiot. While I do agree this is human nature, its something that can be overcome if you’re smart enough to learn some critical thinking skills. Not entirely, but enough to not believe some crazy story like this.