Bella Santorum taken to hospital
katievs ·
January 29, 2012 at 5:16pm
Say a prayer for the Santorum family. Their three year-old-daughter, Bella, was taken to the hospital in Philadelphia today. Rick Santorum has canceled his campaign events to be with her.
Please look at this man's face. Look at its warmth and humanity. Then thank God that such men are still willing to run for high office in this country.
Look at that little girl's face. Look at her joy in life and her confidence in her father's love. Then thank God that there are still such parents in the world, who know that each and every life, no matter how imperfect, is a gift to be cherished.
- Comment (69)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
Comments:
Sep '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
It seems to me that the situation regarding Rick Santorum's daughter is being used shamelessly on Ricochet by his supporters (not by him personally) to drum up support for his candidature. I can only say this. Parents love their children. Parents of disabled children love their children. Parents of children with life-threatening conditions love their children, and they act as he has acted. My heart goes out to him and his family, as it went out to Gordon Brown when his child died, as it did to David Cameron when his child died. There is not much love lost between those two, but when Cameron's child died, the emotion and sympathy that emanated from Brown was palpable; party politics was suspended while they both grieved.
Maybe you should ask yourselves: what would you say, think and feel if it were President Obama's child in this situation? Does he not love his children too?
So I say to you all: please show some decency and stop using this issue to score a point.
Jun '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Gaby,
Considering that about 90% of these children are identified prenatally and aborted, and of the 10% that escape abortion, about 90% of them die before they're one year old, I don't think the Senator is the hero in this story. Bella is.
Edited on January 29, 2012 at 10:51pmSep '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Gaby Charing said:
"So I say to you all: please show some decency and stop using this issue to score a point."
A Ricochet contributor responds - part 1 of 2:
Sep '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
A Ricochet contributor responds - part 1 of 2:
-- Mark Steyn, The UK Spectator, 2005
Sep '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
In related news:
Down's Syndrome Girl Denied Transplant In British Health System July 26, 1999
LONDON (CWNews.com) - A British hospital has refused to approve a heart transplant for a 9-year-old girl afflicted with Down's syndrome because her quality of life is not good enough, according The Times of London on Sunday.
Katie Atkinson will die without a transplant, but her parents said Leeds General Infirmary will not approve transplants for children with Down's as a matter of policy, although other hospitals in Great Britain's National Healthcare System rationing lottery have more liberal policies.
"We can't stand by and do nothing," said Philip Atkinson, Katie's father. "It was a shock to find that in the end, they are not prepared to help her because she is a second-class citizen." He added, "They are ruining more than her life. We will all be devastated by losing her. My wife and I are committed to doing everything we can for her."
Apr '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
James Gawron: Katievs,
Please, remember late last year we were debating about the abortion issue. Please find it. You asked me very tough questions. I need my answers. I don't have notes on this.
Thanks,
Jim
Here's a relevant exchange primarily between James G. and katievs.
Here's a relevant exchange primarily between James G. and Mama Toad.
Edited on January 29, 2012 at 11:04pmDec '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
A British hospital has refused to approve a heart transplant for a 9-year-old girl afflicted with Down's syndrome because her quality of life is not good enough, according The Times of London on Sunday.
Quality of life issues among Down Syndrome children goes much, much further than mental retardation. Down children suffer high rates of heart disease, leukemia, thyroid and gastrointestinal disorders, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, vision and hearing disorders, crippling neuro-degenerative disorders and early death.
There are only so many transplant hearts to go around. To transplant a heart into a Downs sufferer is to deny a chance of life to an otherwise-healthy child.
Doctors who are faced with these choices have a hard enough choice to make without being demonized by those who do not understand the implications.
Sep '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
A genetic death sentence
Edited on January 29, 2012 at 11:41pmNov '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Gaby Charing: Maybe you should ask yourselves: what would you say, think and feel if it were President Obama's child in this situation? Does he not love his children too?
So I say to you all: please show some decency and stop using this issue to score a point. · 1 hour ago
I don´t see anybody trying to score on an issue here. I don´t see anybody attacking Obama either. I just see support.
It´s also normal that the topics of children´s disorders would pop up in conversations such as this one, but I do not see those harsh judgemental issues you seem to perceive. I just see respect for a very caring man in a very tough situation.
As a father-soon-to-be, I just hope I am half as strong as that man is.. and half as loving.
Edited on January 29, 2012 at 11:58pmAug '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Praying!
Jul '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
What a little sweetheart.
I hope all goes well for the Santorum family.
Apr '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Gaby Charing:
Maybe you should ask yourselves: what would you say, think and feel if it were President Obama's child in this situation? Does he not love his children too?
So I say to you all: please show some decency and stop using this issue to score a point. · 2 hours ago
I feel absolutely confident that if Malia or Sasha were to be hospitalized, Katievs would display humanity and care, and would likewise call for prayer on their behalf. Is it your considered intent to disagree with this claim?
The story of Bella is an uplifting one, and a healthy model for Americans to see. To draw attention to it, and to the love involved, is not indecent.
If Santorum makes some policy point off it, other than to advocate for respect for life, expect some pushback, but while he's focused on the kid, it's hard to imagine a dignified criticism (although Gingrich is again calling for him to drop out, which may from some perspectives seem dignified).
May '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Some parents. Not all.In fact most parents--in truth nearly all parents--choose to abort "defective" children. Increasingly, society scorns and despises parents who don't abort those children.
Some people, such as Joseph Kennedy and Arthur Miller, are so ashamed of their children that they put them in institutions and pretend they don't exist.
President Obama has aggressively resisted any restrictions whatsoever on abortion. He even opposes laws that protect the lives of a babies who survive abortions. Since the mother wanted them dead, they should be left to die, he reasoned publicly.
There's a difference between these two men regarding respect for human life, and voters do well to notice it.
But my reason for writing the post was to ask prayers for the Santorum family, and because I was moved by the photo.
If anything terrible were to happen to one of President Obama's children, I'd be praying for them too.
I have a prayer for abortionists on my refrigerator.
Edited on January 30, 2012 at 6:01amMay '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Nobody's Perfect: There are only so many transplant hearts to go around. To transplant a heart into a Downs sufferer is to deny a chance of life to an otherwise-healthy child.
Doctors who are faced with these choices have a hard enough choice to make without being demonized by those who do not understand the implications.
I'm sorry, but I think this passage is appalling. My niece is a special needs child (not Downs, but with many similar health concerns), so I'll grant you that I'm not the most objective person here. Nevertheless, your suggestion that another child without these special needs is more deserving of life-saving measures is simply wrong. Her life, well-being, happiness and maximum health are just as precious and deserving as those of my own thankfully healthy children.
Maybe I've misunderstood your point and you weren't meaning to imply that care should be granted or withheld based on someone's perception of the utility of a particular life. If I have, please let me know.
Edited on January 30, 2012 at 2:16amJun '11
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
God bless the Santorums in this difficult time with their daughter. And also God bless all those with special needs children.
I'm sure the rest of us have no idea what's involved with being a parent of a special needs child.
May '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Gaby Charing: It seems to me that the situation regarding Rick Santorum's daughter is being used shamelessly on Ricochet by his supporters (not by him personally) to drum up support for his candidature. I can only say this. Parents love their children. Parents of disabled children love their children. Parents of children with life-threatening conditions love their children, and they act as he has acted. My heart goes out to him and his family, as it went out to Gordon Brown when his child died, as it did to David Cameron when his child died. There is not much love lost between those two, but when Cameron's child died, the emotion and sympathy that emanated from Brown was palpable; party politics was suspended while they both grieved.
Maybe you should ask yourselves: what would you say, think and feel if it were President Obama's child in this situation? Does he not love his children too?
So I say to you all: please show some decency and stop using this issue to score a point. · 5 hours ago
This gets my seal of approval.
May '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
katievs
Please look at this man's face. Look at its warmth and humanity. Then thank God that such men are still willing to run for high office in this country.
I think that's a non-sequitor. Look at this man's face, its warmth and humanity. Shall we therefore conclude that God should be thanked that such men pursue high office?
katievs
Look at that little girl's face. Look at her joy in life and her confidence in her father's love. Then thank God that there are still such parents in the world, who know that each and every life, no matter how imperfect, is a gift to be cherished.
Likewise. I'm skeptical of such inferences from pictures.
Edited on January 30, 2012 at 4:49amDec '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
What you, Michael and Gaby, seem to persist in misunderstanding about social conservatives is, we steadfastly believe in your right to reject, in terms you might appreciate, our "mythical sky god." It's your prerogative.
The beauty of Ricochet is, you are free to choose which posts and authors to read and on which posts to comment. I have my own filter of sorts.
You're also free to reject my suggestion that you refrain from commenting on a post in which the author is asking for prayers to the aforementioned God for a sick child and the father who loves her and is, coincidentally, a candidate for the GOP nomination. Not everything is politics. It makes it you seem petty.
May '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Western Chauvinist:
You're also free to reject my suggestion that you refrain from commenting on a post in which the author is asking for prayers to the aforementioned God for a sick child and the father who loves her and is, coincidentally, a candidate for the GOP nomination. Not everything is politics. It makes it you seem petty.
I think Gaby is quite right in her accusation. The post seems to me to be an underhanded way of soliciting approval for a politician. I don't think its wise to conclude that one should issue thanks for the political ambition of a man because of the warmth and humanity he expresses in a photo. I think, at best, its sappy, and at worst, irrational. Furthermore, I must also disagree with your insinuation that Gaby and myself are introducing politics where there allegedly is none. I can't have been the only one of have noticed this:
katievs
Please look at this man's face. Look at its warmth and humanity. Then thank God that such men are still willing to run for high office in this country.
You argue this is detached from political concerns?
May '10
Re: Bella Santorum taken to hospital
Western Chauvinist:
You're also free to reject my suggestion that you refrain from commenting on a post in which the author is asking for prayers to the aforementioned God for a sick child and the father who loves her..
I'm sorry, but Katiev's decided that, in addition to requesting prayers for the sake of Santorum's daughter, that she'd also express her enthusiasm for him. Ok. Aside from my skepticism concerning the utility of prayers, I don't object to such posts per se, i.e., posts that requisition readers to keep the ill in our thoughts and exhibit support for a particular candidate. What I do dispute is your interpretation of her post as being bereft of political motives or convictions. She concludes from a flattering photo of a candidate that his political pursuits are something that we should be grateful for. I'll abstain.