Sen. Santorum, wife address St. Louis pro-life convention

Published: 2003-10-31

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- In 1998, the year that President Clinton vetoed a ban on partial-birth abortion for the second time, Republican Sen. Rick Santorum felt "this call to say more" on the floor of the Senate in the debate on a vote to override the veto. "But the next morning, we didn't get one more vote" and the override failed, the senator from Pennsylvania told a pro-life convention in St. Louis. "We lost. To me and the world, I wasted my time." But five days later, Santorum received an e-mail from a student at Michigan State University who said he and his pregnant girlfriend had seen television coverage of Santorum's remarks in the Senate. The girlfriend, who was scheduled to undergo an abortion, changed her mind as a result of watching his debate. "Today, there is a 4-and-a-half-year-old little girl," the senator said. "She was given up for adoption. But even if you don't have that gift of knowing that you touched someone else's life, remember that God is not calling you to be successful. He called you to be faithful." On Oct. 21 Santorum, a Catholic, and his colleagues successfully passed the measure 64-34; the House passed the same measure with a 281-142 vote three weeks earlier. On Oct. 28 the bill was sent to President Bush, who has said he will sign it. He has until Nov. 8 to do so. Santorum's address at the St. Louis Archdiocese's 27th annual pro-life convention came a couple days before Senate passage of the ban.

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