Speaking to a cheering crowd at the National Right-to-Life Committee (NRLC) annual meeting in Jacksonville, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, now making a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, slammed President Barack Obama for undermining the rights of Americans.

“I very much feel at home here,” said Santorum as he accepted the applause of the pro-life activists meeting on the First Coast. He praised them for all their efforts, calling them “warriors of love.”

“This election is the most important election, I believe, since the election of 1860,” said Santorum, referencing the presidential election that sent Abraham Lincoln to the White House.

Santorum noted on a recent appearance on the Glenn Beck show, when he was asked what the 2012 election was about: “It’s an election about where rights come from,” insisted Santorum, who during his time in the Senate led the fight against partial-birth abortion.

The Republican candidate, who served two terms in the U.S. Senate before being routed by Democrat Bob Casey Jr. in 2006, maintains that Obama and other Democrats believe that rights came from the government. Santorum quoted the Founding Fathers and insisted that rights were ordained by God.

“If the government can give you rights, the government can take away rights,” said Santorum. “Americans historically believed that rights came from the Creator.”

Santorum continued to pummel Obama, accusing the president of being “fixated on accumulating power in Washington” and believing “government’s role is to control … rights.”

Insisting that the federal health-care law that Obama backs was the ultimate representation of this agenda, Santorum ripped into it.

“Obamacare is a game-changer,” said Santorum to the cheering crowd. He insisted the measure will “cede your freedom” to Washington and accuses the Obama administration of looking to make Americans “addicted to government.”

Santorum claims that the Obama administration is seeking to make the United States more like “secular Europe where rights come from a socialist government.”

Noting that he and his wife have seven children, Santorum noted that his youngest is disabled and helps inspire his fight against abortion. “In her, I see how the Creator sees me,” he said. “I’m out here fighting for our little child.”

Santorum also focused on politics, noting that he stood for conservative values before the tea party movement took off. The former senator embraced the tea party label. “The tea party is also a pro-life movement,” said Santorum.

Santorum, who has been one of the more aggressive candidates on the campaign trail, insisted his record shows that he is committed to fighting against abortion.

“It’s one thing to vote pro-life,” said Santorum. “It’s another to take the lead.”

Asked by Sunshine State News about his endorsement of then-U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who is pro-choice, over Republican primary rival Pat Toomey in 2004, Santorum defended it, claiming that President George W. Bush would not have been able to appoint two opponents of Roe v. Wade -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito -- to the Supreme Court had it not been for Specter.

Sunshine State News asked members of Santorum’s team if their candidate intends to take part in the Presidency 5 straw poll being held by the Republican Party of Florida in September. The Santorum camp remains uncommitted to taking part in the event, but is open to entering the straw poll.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.