Political Family Shares Their Story Of Choosing Life Against All Odds

One is hard-pressed these days to find legislators who truly stand for life, even publicly opposing the views of some self-described “conservative” colleagues on the issue.

In fact, the issue of Life often seems to be put in the background of candidates’ platforms because they care more about their next election than standing for the unborn.

One politician, however, has very personal reasons for his pro-life stance and often shares his story to demonstrate the power of God and the scare tactics of doctors who think only in clinical terms.

Rick Santorum served as a Republican United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and ran as a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.  But his presidential aspirations came to an end that year when he suspended his campaign for a very special young lady.

Santorum and his wife, Karen, had seven other children before their daughter Bella was born.

Having a child changes any parent’s life, but the Santorums were given some devastating news during Karen’s pregnancy.  Her baby was found to have the genetic disorder Trisomy 18, otherwise known as Edward’s syndrome, which is caused by an error in cell division.

Many babies with the condition are stillborn – with only 50 percent surviving pregnancy alive. Many do not survive long after birth, and so the Santorums were encouraged to abort their child being told she was “incompatible with life.”

Only ten percent or so of infants with Trisomy 18 will survive their first year, and others who go on to lead longer lives require life-long specialized care.  But these facts did not change the minds of these pro-life parents.

After their baby girl’s birth and several hospitalizations, Santorum withdrew from the 2012 presidential campaign, and he has no regrets.

Today, Bella is ten-years-old.

Before Bella was born, the Santorums lost a baby boy when he was born prematurely at 20 weeks.  They grieved with their children and celebrated the child’s life, but they never lost their faith.

And it is this faith that keeps them advocating for Life – the lives of children like Bella who were written off by doctors as not being worthy of life because of the “inconveniences” it would cause others.

When the parents of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans were fighting the British courts to save their children’s lives, Karen Santorum expressed her anger and frustration that the courts and doctors knew best in saying these children were “incompatible with life.”

If the Santorums had listened to their doctors’ scare tactics, Bella Santorum would not be here today — happy and smiling and ten years into a life that others never thought was possible.

Karen Santorum has posted many times on social media with a frightening warning about what can happen to our beloved children when the government takes charge of their care instead of respecting the God-given authority of parents.

And watching the tragic cases of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans woke many other Americans up to a frightening reality.  Children with life-threatening health conditions were not valued in the U.K. – in fact, they were deemed a liability that no one wanted to deal with.

And she fears that we may be headed down the same path if progressive policies and the anti-family, anti-life onslaught continues.

Karen Santorum posted her thoughts on this issue on Facebook in recent months:

What kind of a country gives their infants and children no chance at life? What kind of a country holds parents hostage and gives them no rights over the care of their children? What kind of a country euthanizes their children without fully understanding the medical diagnosis and possible treatments? What kind of a country will not carry the burdens of its weakest members?

“Their silence” over Alfie’s life and death, “is deafening.”

The Santorums canceled a planned trip to England following Alfie Evans’ death. They could not believe, nor condone, the callous disregard of the government at the death of these boys – especially as the royal family welcomed a new little boy but made no public comment about one who was so tragically lost.

It is true that no one knows what would have happened to Charlie or Alfie had they been given a chance to fight.  But that’s the problem – they were denied a chance by people who were playing God in the name of the financial implications of socialized medicine.

Showing that nothing is impossible with God and that no one is “incompatible with life,” Bella is defying the odds and loving every minute of the life her parents nurtured every step of the way.

Though the number is small, some who are diagnosed with Trisomy 18 can live into their twenties and thirties and reach milestones that no one thought possible.

The little boys in the U.K. may have also defied the odds laid out for them by doctors and the courts if given the chance.  Sadly, we will never know.

For now, we must fight alongside true pro-life politicians to abolish policies that endanger our parental rights and our children’s health and safety before it’s too late.

What do you think of the miraculous life of Bella Santorum and the lessons we can learn from her fight to live?  Leave us your thoughts.