NEWTON, Iowa – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum grew teary-eyed Monday when a voter asked him to respond to criticism of the way he and his family honored the life of their son Gabriel, who died shortly after birth.

“We tried everything we could to save his life and we failed,” Santorum said, blinking back tears before a crowd of roughly 150 people in at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton. “He was delivered and he lived about two hours. He was delivered at about 3 o’clock in the morning and he lived and he died in our arms.”