Without starting an abortion debate - which I'm not trying to do - just wanted to give you where I stand.

Abortion to me is wrong when used as a method of birth control. I believe it is justified as a means of "euthanasia" - in a case where a baby would have painful and severe life long complications (regardless of the length of life). Down Syndrome is not a "syndrome" that I consider severe in all cases. So that's why I have a "5% pro-choice" stance. For instances where it's medically necessary and humane - feel a person has a right to choose to abort or not. Again, I don't considered developmentally delayed individuals to fall under my 5% unless it is coupled with severe, painful medical complications.

Again, I'm not debating abortion - because I don't chose to push my ideals and values onto someone else. To me it is a personal choice to believe or not believe in abortion. Just explaining where my head is before I debate Rick Santorum's comments.

I have a real problem with his statement. First off, I know many people who have had amnio's for the sole purpose of determining if there were any genetic or chromosomal issues - so they were better prepared for the baby and the baby's needs upon delivery. Not every person does this because they want to abort down the road. I think it is unfair that I would have to pay for the amnio when as an advanced maternal age pregnant woman I would like to have the ability to have pre-natal screening if I so desired. For the sole purpose of being prepared. I did not do prenatal screening other than the 12 week and 20 week ultrasounds for both my kids. That is prenatal screening that can pick up markers but also can pick up issues such as kidney problems, heart issues, etc. Things that could help a neonatal doctor treat a baby either before it is born or immediately afterwards. I would be angry if my child died because I was not "able" to get such screening covered under my insurance and I didn't have the funds to pay for it myself. Then my child has a heart condition that could have been handled while in-utero but because I couldn't afford this testing, I had to wait until my child was born to find out it had a critical and life threatening heart issue that could have been repaired either in-utero or immediately upon birth, but instead my child died.

Until abortion becomes illegal again, I don't believe that politicians have the right to make exceptions to the rule. You are either all in or all out. If abortion is going to be legalized, then I think they need to allow amnios and other pre-natal screening readily available and insurance companies should cover such screenings like they would most other health related tests.

I say kudos to him for raising a child who has obvious developmental and healthy complications. Not everyone is fit to handle such situations. My primary care physician has a child with a very severe medical condition. One that a doctor neglected to pick up on pre-natal screening and an amnio was not suggested. Given what he has to deal with every day and he and his wife are both doctors - they have the means and the intellect to handle such a medical complications - he said, given what he knows how his DD's life would be like today and the pain and suffering she deals with daily and the struggles of her life, he wished they had the opportunity to decide to abort.

For me, I don't think I could end a life. I struggled with a dog for goodness sakes, I just couldn't with a baby, no matter what the circumstances were, but I sure would have wanted to know what I was facing with my son. I would have been better prepared both intellectually and emotionally. I would have been a better Mom to both my kids early on and I would have enjoyed his infancy much more than I ever did. But that is just me.

One thing I think he missed by his statement is that he didn't take into consideration that those individuals that chose to terminate most likely agonized over their decision to terminate. That the child they so very much wanted was being terminated in order for it to be spare a lifetime of suffering. In a lot of ways, that is a loving act. To be willing to shield another human being from suffering even though they wanted that child more than anyone would ever know. Those parent's heart will always be bruised.

I think Rick Santorum is reckless and I'm scared of the fact that he has a strong pull in both Michigan and Ohio at the moment.

BTW - my DH thinks that when the time comes for the Republican convention this summer - chances are none of those running will get enough votes at the convention and Sarah Palin will end up the nominee. Thought that was very interesting.

I'm very dissatisfied with both sides of the arena. I'm probably not going to vote this time around because I'm not passionate about any one of the candidates. No matter who wins we'll end up with 4 more years of crap. Mark my word! When you can't get both sides of the floor to play nice and fair - we can't expect things to change in or economy and other politically motivated policies.