BOCA RATON, Fla. — GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, campaigning under the banner "faith, family and freedom," has made his life story central to his political identity. He often mentions his seven kids — one of whom is gravely ill — a son who died hours after birth, and his wife of two decades as proof that he not only preaches conservative values but lives by them in his daily life.
But as his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who has a rare and fatal genetic disorder, struggled with a life-threatening bout of pneumonia in recent days, his family life collided with his political schedule, forcing him to cancel several events here. And in church pews, medical circles and among some conservatives, Santorum's decision to remain a candidate, even as his prospects dim and his daughter battles a deadly fatal illness, has sparked conversation about whether he should remain in the race.
Douglas Pigg, associate pastor of church administration at First Baptist Church in Naples, where Santorum appeared last week, said it is a deeply personal decision.
"Being a father and having three sons of my own, if I had one that was in critical care, I would stay there, but there is no way for me to impose what I would do on Santorum," Pigg said. "I would support any man that would have a child in his position to go back and take care of it."
Short on cash and without a clear path to the nomination, the former senator from Pennsylvania has vowed to stay in the presidential contest "for the long haul." He called supporters from the hospital as Bella's condition improved and laid out a strategy for a national campaign beyond Tuesday's Florida primary, which he has all but conceded.
Santorum, who until this weekend had not been to his home since Christmas, has said his duty as a father is to run for office and try to make the nation better.
"I don't know whether her life is going to be measured — it's always been measured — in days and weeks," he said in an interview with The Washington Post in November. "Yet here I am . . . because I feel like I wouldn't be a good dad if I wasn't out here fighting for a country that would see the dignity in her and every other child."
Bella suffers from Trisomy 18, a chromosome abnormality that affects development of the brain, heart and other organs. Doctors gave her just days to live when she was born. According to Santorum, they urged the family to forgo intense medical treatment and prepare for their daughter to die, a story that has moved many voters and has particularly resonated with conservatives.
David Limbaugh, the brother of the popular radio talk show host, endorsed Santorum on Monday. Glenn Beck, who also has a special-needs child, cast Santorum as a defender of life, as did conservative pundit and author Michelle Malkin, who also offered an endorsement.
"Santorum is an eloquent spokesperson for the culture of life. He has been savaged and ridiculed by leftist elites for upholding traditional family values — not just in word, but in deed," Malkin wrote on her Web site, linking to a previous post about Bella's illness.
