On the campaign trail, Republican Rick Santorum has made attacking the Affordable Care Act a cornerstone of his stump speech. During an event on Friday, the former Pennsylvania senator supported a “death panels” claim that stroke patients over the age of 70 “will not be granted treatment” under President Obama’s health care reform plan. The claim is false, according to Health and Human Services officials, but Santorum said that “[w]hen you become a cost, then the government starts to allocate resources.”

Santorum warned that the United States could follow the way of the Netherlands, where, he (incorrectly) claimed euthaniasia represts “10 percent of all deaths.” He also bemoaned women’s access to safe and legal abortion services:

Look at what’s happened just in our tolerance for abortion. Fifty years ago…60 years ago, people who did abortions were in the shadows, people who were considered really bad doctors. Now, abortion is something to that is just accepted. [...] This is the erosion. And it happens in the medical profession. It happened very fast. And I think Obamacare will lead us down that road.

Watch the video from Right Wing Watch:

Of course, Santorum’s nostalgia for a time before doctors could legally perform abortions was also a time when women regularly died or were seriously injured by illegal procedures. Roughly 50 percent of all maternal deaths in the first half of the 20th century were from illegal abortions, and an estimated 160 to 260 women died each year in the 1950s and 1960s from illegal abortions. But for Santorum, the fact that women no longer face those dangers is a sign of what harm can come from health care reform, right along with fake death panels and false warnings about euthanasia.

After cheering for letting a young man die during a GOP debate, and wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, perhaps this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but a new Daily Kos/PPP poll finds that a majority of conservatives have an “unfavorable” view of breast cancer screening services performed by Planned Parenthood. Just 25 percent have a positive view, compared to 51 percent with a negative one. The poll, of course, comes in the wake of the Susan G. Komen foundation’s decision to stop funding screening services at Planned Parenthood, but the results call in question what it means to be “pro-life,” as many conservatives identify themselves.

The poll also showed that Komen’s brand took a big hit in the controversy. A majority of all Americans, 53 percent, opposed Komen’s decision, while just 38 percent supported it. 49 percent said it made them less likely to support Komen financially in the future.

A new University of Memphis study estimates the number of uninsured Tennesseans will drop by more than 50 percent as 558,004 previously uninsured citizens under the age of 65 will gain coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The study is based on data collected in 2009 when 910,215 Tennesseans under age 65 — nearly 17 percent of Tennessee’s total population — were identified as uninsured:

Uninsured residents will have the option of seeking coverage though TennCare, Tennessee’s version of Medicaid, or qualifying for private insurance through the state’s own health insurance exchange. Others will qualify for coverage under their parents’ health care plans:

The study also reports that Tennessee will save $2.3 billion in cuts to bad debt and uncompensated care, which will aid in funneling more money into the state’s health care system. “Uncompensated care and bad debt will be reduced from $4.11 billion to $1.84 billion, a 55 percent decrease, the study said”:

In spite of this, Tennessee remains slow in making any sort of progress towards meeting federal deadlines for enacting legislation that must be in place in order to receive federal funding for the implementation of key parts of the health care bill. Much of their choice to hold off is based on whether the Supreme Court decides to overturn the ACA or if the potential election of a Republican president would lead to a repeal of the law.

– Fatima Najiy

Ron Paul told Piers Morgan on Friday that he would support a woman’s right to an abortion in cases of “honest rape” and suggested that some women lie about undergoing the horrific crime in order to terminate their pregnancies. Paul went on to argue that women should not have the right to abort a “nine-pound baby,” despite the fact that 90 percent of all abortions occur within the first trimester:

MORGAN: But it’s a dilemma that I am going to put to you. You have two daughters. You have many granddaughters. If one of them was raped — and I accept it’s a very unlikely thing to happen. But if they were, would you honestly look at them in the eye and say they had to have that child if they were impregnated?

PAUL: No. If it’s an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room. I would give them a shot of estrogen or give them –

MORGAN: You would allow them to abort the baby?

PAUL: It is absolutely in limbo, because an hour after intercourse or a day afterwards, there is no legal or medical problem. If you talk about somebody coming in and they say, well, I was raped and I’m seven months pregnant and I don’t want to have anything to do with it, it’s a little bit different story.

But somebody arriving in an emergency room saying, I have just been raped and there is no chemical — there’s no medical and there’s no legal evidence of a pregnancy –

Watch it:

Unfortunately, the Texas Congressman has a long history of dismissing women’s claims of sexual harassment. In his 1987 book, “Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years,” Paul suggested that victims of sexual harassment should simply quit their jobs, writing, “Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity. Why don’t they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable.” (HT: C&L)

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has accused the Catholic leadership of “hyperventilating” over the Obama administration’s new regulation requiring employers and insurers to cover reproductive health benefits without additional co-pay. Catholic organizations argue that the rule violates their religious liberties and are planning to sue the federal government, even though the measure includes a narrow religious exemption that mirrors existing conscience protections in New York and California.

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, O’Malley, himself a Catholic, claimed that the Church is politicizing the health care debate and moving the goal posts from abortion to contraception in their war against the administration:

O’MALLEY: I am Catholic. And I think, Candy, there’s been a little bit too much hyperventilating over this issue…this is not about abortion. It’s about covering contraception as part of the health care coverage, mandatory, basic coverage. 28 states already require this. And in Europe –

CANDY CROWLEY (HOST): But you’re not thinking about the state, the federal government, telling a religion what it must cover in a health care policy.

O’MALLEY: Well, there is an exemption for the — for churches themselves. The exemption does not necessarily extend to institutions like hospitals or universities that employ people of all faiths. But these same rules apply in countries like Italy which have overwhelming numbers of Catholics. And yet we did not see the reaction in those countries to these sorts of things.

Watch it:

Indeed, of the 28 states that already require contraception coverage 8 do not offer religious organizations conscience protections. In those states, the Obama rule is actually expanding the conscience guidelines and allowing houses of worship to stop offering birth control for the very first time.

But the outrage here is truly manufactured and politically-motivated. 98 percent of Catholic women use contraception and many Catholic employers already offer it. If we are truly to believe that the Obama regulation undermines their sensibilities, then we’d have to accept that Catholic churches are oppressed in 28 states and nearly persecuted in eight of them.

Congressman says Medicare will make Pelosi speaker: “The Democratic representative charged with taking back the House says the election will be about one issue — Medicare — and his party “is in a much better place than anyone thought we would be” to put Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) back in the speaker’s chair.” [The Hill]

Gingrich not letting up on Romney: “Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich showed no signs of easing his attacks on rival and frontrunner for the Republican nomination Mitt Romney on Sunday….He was pro-abortion, he was pro-gun control he was pro-tax increase,” Gingrich said. And he dismissed Romney as a ‘very weak governor’ when it came to spurring job growth, perhaps the defining issue in the 2012 election.” [National Journal]

Health care employment to skyrocket through 2020: “Job growth in the healthcare sector will outpace other sectors through 2020 predicts new statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS’ employment projections find that total employment is expected to grow by 14.3 percent through 2020, resulting in 20.5 million jobs. Healthcare and social assistance should see the most gain with 5.6 million jobs.” [Healthcare Finance News]

Maine governor backs tough Medicaid cuts: “Medicaid spending is a matter of urgency almost everywhere in the country right now, but in few places is the urgency as palpable as it is here, where the governor refers to the federal-state health insurance program for the poor as ‘welfare,’ says it’s necessary to eliminate coverage for 65,000 adults, and wants to stop paying room and board for some 2,000 elders who live in group homes.” [Stateline]

Study finds Tennessee will see savings from reform: “Health care reform will reduce the number of uninsured Tennesseans by more than half and cut uncompensated care and bad debt by $2.3 billion, but the newly insured could put a strain on the state’s health care system.” [The Commercial Appeal]

Pennsylvania ultrasound bill introduced: “A new bill being introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has brought issues of gender inequality under debate. The Women’s Right to Know Act would require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound test at least 24 hours before the procedure. The ultrasound test would be used to determine the gestational age of the fetus.” [The Daily Pennsylvanian]