First what Santorum did say:
"One of the things that you don't know about ObamaCare in one of the mandates is they require free prenatal testing," Santorum began telling about 400 people here. "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. That too is part of ObamaCare -- another hidden message as to what president Obama thinks of those who are less able than the elites who want to govern our country."
There is excellent discussion in bkamr's diary,
Okay, Santorum's most grotesque statement, yet. about what is horribly, shamefully--
dangerously-- wrong in this statement, so I will not repeat that here.
Instead I want to look at what Santorum didn't say: that his wife Karen received prenatal screening, back in 1996. From a 2005 New York Times Magazine profile of Santorum, The Believer:
the couple were told by doctors early in the pregnancy that the baby Karen was carrying had a fatal defect and would survive only for a short time outside the womb.
(The unusual events following the infant's ultimate birth and death have been widely discussed-- see for example, the Times article above.)
Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that, after this tragic experience, Karen would have received prenatal screening for all of her subsequent pregnancies.
So apparently it is other people's wives who shouldn't be able to get prenatal screening-- more specifically, other people's wives who can't afford it-- notice that he says free prenatal screening. (Even more specifically: women who don't already receive prenatal screening through Medicaid.)
So here is what Santarum didn't say out loud, but said nevertheless:
One of the things you might not know is that my wife and I, and our children, have benefited greatly from prenatal testing. Because we have impeccable morals, we are entitled to know the information such screening provides. But women who can't afford prenatal screening shouldn't be allowed to know these things, because they can't be trusted. Instead, these women and their children will just have to suffer the consequences of ignorance: less healthy babies, less healthy mothers, maybe even chronic illness or death. But that doesn't bother me, because I am one of the elites who wants to be president, and I'm a real Christian, not like some other people who say they are.