On the campaign trail, Mr. Santorum has criticized a requirement in President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul that insurers cover prenatal testing, saying that would lead to more abortions.

“A lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in utero, and the customary procedure is to encourage abortions,’’ Mr. Santorum said on CBS, singling out the amniocentesis procedure in particular.

When host Bob Schieffer questioned whether the senator would oppose any kind of prenatal testing, Mr. Santorum said he supported sonograms and other prenatal care, but he said parents should not be forced by the government to get procedures.