Salon.com: Karen Santorum did not have an abortion

[moriah]

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/06/karen_santorum_did_not_have_an_abortion/singleton/

Karen Santorum did not have an abortion
An expert says Internet chatter about the procedure that saved her life appears false

------

Ever since Rick Santorum came microscopically close to winning the Iowa caucus, the Internet has been aflutter with the contention that he is a hypocrite on late abortions, because his wife allegedly had one. When Karen Santorum was close to death due to an infection, it is said, the author of the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Ban was party to an induced labor that saved her life — and which some pro-choicers have called the same as an abortion.

But this isn’t true, at least not so far as the Santorums have described the events of October 1996. Of course, without direct access to Karen Santorum’s medical files, we have to take their word for what happened, and with only sketchy details. But according to a nationally respected obstetrician-gynecologist who has long been active in the reproductive health community and who provides abortion services — who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not having treated Santorum directly — by their own account, the Santorums neither induced labor nor terminated the pregnancy.

<snip>

As the doctor put it, “One takes from this that pregnancies can go very, very wrong, very quickly.” Moreover, the kinds of legislative hurdles Santorum wants — or hospital administrative committees that seek to supersede the family’s decision-making — can certainly slow down the process and endanger women’s lives in the process.

But it’s important to stick to the facts as we can access them when it comes to the Santorums personal history, which they have frequently cited and even published a book about. Do you feel uncomfortable about having gone this far up Karen Santorum’s womb? Me too — which is another reason to vigorously oppose her husband’s policies.

---------

The entire article is well-worth reading.

Edit to add the original 1997 article where they talked about their experience:

http://articles.philly.com/1997-05-04/news/25562508_1_fetal-abnormality-controversial-late-term-abortion-procedure-intact-dilation-and-extraction