"One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country. It’s not okay." Think Progress, 10/19/11
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In a field of candidates that regularly belittles women’s health, believes science is merely a theory, and that government regulation should be relegated only to the bedroom, Rick Santorum is king.
Rick Santorum is running for president under the pretense of “family values,” but his Victorian standard of morality excludes and discriminates against anyone who doesn’t share his narrow perspective.
It’s a world view that imposes his rigid beliefs on the most personal decisions, such as the use of birth control. In fact, he has warned of the “dangers of contraception in this country,” and believes that it’s “not okay” and that states have the right to ban its use.
To be clear, Rick Santorum is against the use of contraception and believes that states should have the right to enforce such a prohibition.
In the U.S. Senate, he even voted against funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs in 2005 because it was allocated for education and contraception, and not abstinence-only curricula. Not surprisingly, he also wants to end Title X funding for family planning and Planned Parenthood, which would eliminate access to preventive health care services for millions of women, including lifesaving cancer screenings.
As a presidential candidate, Santorum signed the Personhood USA Pledge, promising to support a constitutional amendment declaring that life begins at conception. The Personhood USA Pledge also reaffirms its universal opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or if the health of the woman is at risk.
Remember that voters in Mississippi (that’s right, Mississippi) summarily rejected a similar “personhood” amendment in 2011 because it was too extreme.
When it comes to reproductive health, Rick Santorum “is about as far right on the issue as a GOP candidate can get,” says the conservative FOX News. Santorum takes credit for authoring the Federal Abortion Ban, a law that criminalized abortion services and could send doctors to jail.
He even went so far as to liken abortion to slavery:
"For decades certain human beings were wrongly treated as property and denied liberty in America because they were not considered persons under the constitution. Today other human beings, the unborn of all races, are also wrongly treated as property and denied the right to life for the same reason…"
Throughout his career, Rick Santorum has amassed a staggering record that dismisses women’s reproductive rights and restricts access to the most basic health care. A Santorum presidency would be a truly frightening prospect.
But with your help, Rick Santorum will never get that far. With your help, Rick Santorum will learn that his incendiary rhetoric and regressive, unscientific, and intolerant views are unsuitable for elected office.
Rick Santorum needs to know that women are watching ─ SIGN THE PLEDGE TODAY.
"‘I don't believe breast cancer research is advanced by funding an organization that does abortions where you've seen ties to cancer and abortions.’ In fact, a 2007 study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine studying 105,716 women found no link between breast cancer and abortions.” [The Huffington Post, 2/5/2012]
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“I want to make sure that everybody understands that when politicians say "I believe life begins at conception," that is conceding ground. And the ground that we concede is by using the term "believe." Life beginning at conception is not a belief, it is not an article of faith, it is an article of fact. It's a biological fact that life, in fact, begins as conception and we need to begin to understand that we have to use language that is consistent with what the truth is.” [Right Wing Watch, 12/28/11]
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“I believe that life begins at conception, and that that life should be guaranteed under the Constitution. That is a person…I believe that any doctor that performs an abortion, I would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion, should be criminally charged for doing so.” [Think Progress 6/12/2011]
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“Discussing his role in bringing about the federal late-term abortion ban, Santorum dismissed exceptions meant to protect the health of the mother as ‘phony’ and claimed that such exceptions would render the ban ‘ineffective.’” [PFAW, 6/8/2011]
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"'The Social Security system, in my opinion, is a flawed design, period. But having said that, the design would work a lot better if we had stable demographic trends,' Santorum said on WEZS Radio in New Hampshire. 'We don't have enough workers to support the retirees. Well, a third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion.'" [CBS News, 3/30/2011]
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"For decades certain human beings were wrongly treated as property and denied liberty in America because they were not considered persons under the constitution. Today other human beings, the unborn of all races, are also wrongly treated as property and denied the right to life for the same reason…" [Politico, 1/20/2011]
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