Rick Santorum's fetus

[illusionofjoy]

Knowing the enemy is very important when it comes to winning the war. When I first visited Rick Santorum's website, his his biography stated that, "[he] and his wife...are the parents of seven wonderful children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Gabriel (deceased), Sarah Maria, Peter, and Patrick." This was quite a while back; a visit to the biography now reveals that Gabriel's name has been removed from the list. It would seem that this spawn of the Santorums may be a political liability.

Although I wasn't aware of it at the time, I first because aware of how special little Gabriel was through a recent Savage Love. For those of you who don't know, Savage Love is a weekly sex advice column written by author and gay activist Dan Savage, who also just so happens to be the editor of the Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger. In this column Savage refers to another article in which there was, "another retelling of the dark and scary night when Rick Santorum and his equally creepy wife Karen spent the night in bed with a dead fetus." I kind of blinked for a moment and then brushed it off as potential hyperbole. Rick Santorum, who equated gay sex to bestiality would never desecrate a corpse by sleeping with it - especially not one of a child...would he?

About a month later, in Pittsburgh's City Paper, the same newsweekly where I read my locally syndicated print of Savage Love, one of their authors wrote an article on Rick Santorum. John McIntire's piece pointed out many of the political landmines Santorum has been stepping in as of late, with the same regard for self-preservation that would be possessed by a little girl skipping through a field of daisies. However, what really caught my attention was the fact that McIntire referenced not one but two highly reputable newspapers who had run articles about Gabriel: the traditionally liberal New York Times and the traditionally conservative Washington Post. True, Dan Savage mentioned the New York Times in his article, but at that moment, I had thought that Dan was just being Dan again (if you read his book, Skipping Towards Gomorrah - which I recommend you do - you'll find out about his alleged "phone-licking" political escapade).

The New York Times article is no longer online in full, but can be purchased for the bargain price of $3.95. An even better deal can be had by going to your local library's archives, asking for the paper from Sunday, May 22, 2005 and then looking on Section 6 , Page 56 , Column 1. Meanwhile, the Washington Post article, despite being older, is still online and damnation comes in the first two paragraphs:

In his Senate office, on a shelf next to an autographed baseball, Sen. Rick Santorum keeps a framed photo of his son Gabriel Michael, the fourth of his seven children. Named for two archangels, Gabriel Michael was born prematurely, at 20 weeks, on Oct. 11, 1996, and lived two hours outside the womb.

Upon their son's death, Rick and Karen Santorum opted not to bring his body to a funeral home. Instead, they bundled him in a blanket and drove him to Karen's parents' home in Pittsburgh. There, they spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2. They took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass.

The Santorums now have six living children, three of whom were born after Gabriel. This event occurred nine years ago, meaning that this happened while Rick Santorum was in office, seeing as how he began serving in January of 1995. One thing can be said for the Santorums: they are devout Catholics in that they don't use contraceptives.

Regardless of when it happened, the fact is that it shouldn't have happened. When I first read that the Santorums had a deceased child, I felt kind of sorry for them on a human level. True, the beliefs of Rick Santorum are archaic and uneducated and his actions are monstrous, but that doesn't lessen the trauma of losing a child. However, after finding out the details, I am less sympathetic. True, when a miscarriage happens it is no less traumatic than if the child had already been born and died. It is especially traumatic for the mother. However, what the Santorums chose to do with the body of the fetus (and yes, at twenty weeks, it was still a fetus) does not indicate to me a family who was handling their grief in a healthy manner.

As I stated before, it was desecration of a corpse, which in my opinion is a heinous crime. Perhaps I'm not as well-versed in Catholic tradition as I should be (my parents were Methodists), but I can not recall one shred of dogma that states that it is appropriate to take a dead body home and fondle it for several hours. This is effectively what happened when the Santorums removed the fetus from the hospital, took it home, "introduced" it to their children and then spent the night with it. Gabriel should have been taken to a funeral home, placed in a coffin and then given a proper burial with the appropriate religious rites. I think both conservatives and liberals can agree that this would have been far more respectful and healthy than the freak show which actually went on.

Rick Santorum has built his political career are being a hardline "family man." What does it say then, that he made his children a party to fetus-gate? It was out of line for Santorum and his wife to act as they did, but one could even stretch it to believe that these were the desperate actions of grief-stricken parents. The inclusion of their children into the fiasco brings it to a whole new level. Sibling or not, this was a dead body and in proper society we do not treat the dead as we do the living - we certainly do not molest them! It is our duty to remember those lost and then help them on their way to the next world - whatever one's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) dictates that may be.

If they are lucky, the 4 and 1 ½ year old (now 13 and 10) won't even remember the incident. The six year old (now 15) most likely will, however. Call me flip, but I think that such an incident at such a young age could mess a kid up for life. It does indeed make me wonder about the childhoods of Rick and Karen Santorum and what skeletons are in their respective closets that they found this action appropriate.

The crux of the issue is this, however: Rick Santorum is a United States senator. This puts him in a unique position of public scrutiny and public responsibility. Disregarding his policies for a moment, would you want someone in office who thinks it appropriate to desecrate the bodies of dead fetuses? I know I certainly would not. The way I see it, the desecration of a dead fetus is the mark of someone who isn't operating with a full deck. If he did that, what else could he have the capacity to do?

Comments

[ruined888.livejournal.com]

well, I was raised catholic, and such actions are certainly not encouraged. This guy and his wife are wackos. Personally, I think they should have cooked it and eaten it. Fetus tastes like veal.

--Angel
Honey, are you going to eat the rest of Gabriel?

[hanalyse.livejournal.com]

Rick to child: "Die on me, will you?! You're out of the family!"

I guess maybe it made his image depressing because he lost a child. I think it's unfortunate, but most people don't talk about their dead kids. I didn't know my best friend had a deceased sister until a few years ago, and we've been friends our whole lives, almost. No one ever told me. ::shrugs::

[hanalyse.livejournal.com]

I just read the whole thing. For some reason, I usually do not see your whole post until aftet I comment. I just have this to say:

UNGH.
UNGH.
UNGH.

I know when a baby dies, people usually hold it for a couple of hours, but when it starts to discolor badly, they give it up to the funeral director... OMG... OMG...