Commentary: Politics and Pathology

Single, and in her twenties, Karen Santorum commits the unforgivable sin: she has sex with Tom Allen, an OBGYN who performs abortions. Dr. Allen is 40 years her senior, and, in fact had delivered her. So perhaps Karen has “father” issues. At the time, Rick, self-proclaimed grandson of immigrant coal miners—though he’s remarkably unlike any working class Italian-American I ever knew in 12 years of Catholic school—had zero interest, say those who knew him, in anti-abortion crusading. Imagine the forces at work when Karen meets Rick. Imagine the rage simmering his jealous, unforgiving heart. It’s on display on the stump every day. So let’s assume Rick “saves” Karen, by marrying her, i.e., she renounces her sinful ways. They have children. In 1996, Karen gives birth to a boy who dies two hours later. They bring the dead infant home, encourage their other children to hold the lifeless form, then sleep that night with the child—the bitter fruit of Karen’s sin—between them. Karen delivers another child, Bella, three years ago, this one afflicted with Trisomy 18, a genetic defect easily detected by pre-natal screening. Trisomy 18 is characterized by “abnormalities in the development of the brain, heart and other internal organs.” Ninety percent of Trisomy 18 children die in the first year; the rest well before  their teens, often of pneumonia or cancer. What is Bella Santorum’s quality of life? Perhaps Rick would say her torment is mitigated in his loving embrace. Not very different from how he “saved” his wife from Dr. Allen. What is Santorum’s “Christian” response to all this tragedy: he wants to ban other pregnant women from prenatal screens, or better yet, forbid them from indulging in sex.