In a segment Monday night, liberal MSNBC news host Rachel Maddow found herself literally chasing down Republican candidates in New Hampshire, but making little headway — except, that is, with Rick Santorum.

Maddow was able to catch up with the former Senator from Pennsylvania in her hotel, while he participated in a radio interview. During a commercial break, Maddow managed to squeeze in a single question about birth control, only to watch as Santorum dodged it and “ran out the clock” by talking about something else.

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As Maddow explained, that’s not so uncommon with him and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, both of whom seem to be keen to avoid the subject of birth control. That might be due to an oversight on their campaigns’ behalves: both men have called for laws that define a fertilized embryo as a person, making virtually all abortion procedures illegal.

But what they might not have realized is, that same law they signed on to support would also ban all forms of hormonal birth control, like the ubiquitous combined oral contraceptive medicine otherwise known as “the pill.”

“Birth control has been legal in this country, in every state of the union, for almost half a century, since the Supreme Court said the states had no right to ban it,” Maddow said. “Half a century, your right to birth control has been the law of the land — and now comes the current Republican presidential field. It’s 2012.”

This video is from MSNBC, broadcast Monday, Jan. 9, 2012.

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