PoliticsPoliticsRick SantorumSunlight Foundation

Rick Santorum's Abortion Obsession

As Senator, Rick Santorum Was Obsessed With Women's Reproduction
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Senior National Correspondent, HuffPost

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WASHINGTON -- Surging Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum appeared to have a cause that reemerged repeatedly when he was a United States senator and it wasn't about foreign policy or federal tax policy -- it was all about abortion.

According to an analysis of the then-Pennsylvania senator's utterances by the Sunlight Foundation, Santorum was obsessed with all things gynecological. Between Jan. 1, 1996, and January 3, 2007, his last day in the upper chamber, Santorum spoke the words "abortion," "partial-birth," "fetus," "fetal" and "womb" more than any other senator.

Santorum was also one of the more graphic orators during his 10 years on Capitol Hill. As the sponsor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 to ban late-term abortions, he "uttered the following phrases more than anyone else: 'base of the skull,' and 'life of the mother,'" Sunlight's data fellow Lee Drutman wrote.

A full tally of Santorum's words about women's anatomy can be found here.

SLIDESHOW: Santorum's Abortion Obsession By The Numbers

Santorum's Favorite Words
'Abortion'(01 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 1014Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 8328Santorum accounted for 12.2 percent of total instances of the word "abortion" in the Senate during this period. (credit:Getty)
'Partial-birth'(02 of07)
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"Partial-Birth"Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 379Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 1787Santorum accounted for 21.2 percent of total instances of the words "partial-birth" in the Senate during this period."Partial Birth"Total Santorum utterances (1/1/1996-1/3/2007): 116Total Senate utterances (1/1/1996-1/3/2007): 466Santorum accounted for 24.9 percent of total instances of the words "partial birth" during this period. (credit:Getty)
'Fetus'(03 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 145Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 780Santorum accounted for 18.6 percent of total instances of the word "fetus" during this period. (credit:Getty)
'Fetal'(04 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 99Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 1134Santorum accounted for 8.7 percent of total instances of the word "fetal" during this period. (credit:Getty)
"Womb"(05 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 90Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 369Santorum accounted for 24.4 percent of total instances of the word "womb" in the Senate during this period. (credit:Getty)
'Base Of The Skull'(06 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 34Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 48Santorum accounted for 70.8 percent of total instances of the words "base of the skull" during this period. (credit:Getty)
'Life Of The Mother'(07 of07)
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Total Santorum utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 74Total Senate utterances (Jan. 1, 1996 to Jan. 3, 2007): 307Santorum accounted for 24.1 percent of total instances of the words "life of the mother" during this period. (credit:Getty)

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