GUEST POST: Sen. Rick Santorum will be a special guest on an upcoming Students for Life Action Media Event Tuesday, March 5, at 2 p.m. This is more about his story from his team.

It was 1996, and the newly elected Republican U.S. Senate majority was in search of a sponsor for a bill to ban partial-birth abortions. Rick Santorum, who had never spoken in Congress about abortion, was appalled by the inhumanity of what he was learning and stepped forward to lead the fight to end this heinous procedure.  

Little did he know that this would begin nearly three decades of advocacy for the unborn. Santorum three times led the debate to end partial birth abortions on the floor of the U.S. Senate, taking on the likes of pro-abortion senators Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, and Russ Feingold and twice having his legislation vetoed by President Clinton. 

The rare debate accompanying the override of those vetoes sparked some of the most defining moments in the movement’s history. While the overrides failed by the narrowest of margins, garnering support from many pro-choice senators, the debate not only made the public aware of the horror of late-term abortion but forced the abortionists to admit that they were killing a human life.  

While it was not until 2003 that Santorum’s legislation would pass and be signed into law by President George W. Bush, public sentiment shifted toward the pro-life position and stayed that way for over 25 years. During his time in the Senate, Santorum would also lead the fight to pass critical pro-life legislation like the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Santorum knew winning the pro-life issue was political and humanitarian, changing hearts and minds. He used the notoriety from his work in the Senate as an opportunity to promote and support pregnancy care centers and other grassroots ministries nationwide.  

As God would have it, the Lord was preparing Santorum to transition from being a voice of the movement to making him and his family a personal witness of the pro-life movement.  

In 2008, Santorum and his wife were expecting their eighth child. Late in her pregnancy, Santorum’s wife Karen began to experience complications, and on May 13, 2008, she gave birth to their third daughter – Isabella Maria, “Bella.”  

Bella was perfect, but they knew something was wrong. Tests shortly after her birth confirmed that she had Trisomy 18, a condition that medical literature says is incompatible with life.  

Unfortunately, doctors today often put patients, particularly disabled patients, in diagnostic boxes. As far as they were concerned, Bella was going to die, so they sent her home on hospice care and even refused to prescribe oxygen to a baby with immature lung development. Karen, a former nurse, informed the doctors to treat their daughter, not her genetic diagnosis. Bella got oxygen. Thus, the Santorums began what would be the most important pro-life battle of their lives – the fight to save their daughter.  

They were not going to spend her life in anticipation of death but instead loving and supporting her so she would have the best chance in life. Her first year of life was treacherous. Her respiratory system was so fragile that her first cold quickly descended into a 911 call, CPR, and a week’s stay in the ICU. Several months later, another cold struck even quicker, so Karen did CPR to revive her and Bella spent weeks on a ventilator.  

Miraculously, she was released on Christmas Eve. Bella’s health eventually stabilized. Partly motivated by his experience with the country’s healthcare system and the advent of Obamacare, Rick became a candidate for president in 2012. Starting at the bottom of the pack, by February of 2012 Rick had won the Iowa caucus. He eventually faded into the pack with losses in New Hampshire and South Carolina.  

Just before the Florida primary, Bella got another cold landing her in the hospital. Rick announced he was suspending his campaign and asked people to pray for Bella. The doctors wanted to put her on a ventilator because her lungs were full of fluid, and she could barely breathe. Another long and perilous hospital stay was ahead for Bella, her mom, and her dad. At this time, the miracle that is Bella’s life became known to the nation.  

The nation prayed, and another miracle happened. Within 24 hours, her lungs were perfectly clear, and she needed no help breathing. 

Rick returned to the campaign in the days leading to the Missouri caucus, and he was met by something unexpected – and wonderful. Those who came to see Rick on the trail were no longer just traditional Republican activists waving campaign placards; there were scores of special needs families waving signs saying they were voting for “Bella’s Dad.” The special needs community finally had a champion who spoke for them and was one of them.  

While Rick did not become president in 2012, his campaign shined a bright light on the dignity those with special needs deserve. The stories the Santorum family heard along the trail from families like theirs were both heartbreaking and empowering and inspired them to share their family’s story. Their book, “Bella’s Gift,” would become a New York Times bestseller, helping countless special needs families know they were not alone in their struggles.  

Today, at nearly 16 years of age, Bella remains the center of the Santorum family and a living testament that all lives are worth fighting for. 

READ NEXT: What You Need to Know Before Biden’s Pro-Abortion PR Stunt at the State of the Union with Kate Cox