Rick Santorum Pressed On Gay Rights, Abortion In New Hampshire: 'Would You Abort A Gay Baby?' (VIDEO)

Questions over GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's stance on gay rights and abortion continued to hound him on the campaign trail Monday, when a questioner in New Hampshire asked him if he would "abort a gay baby."

(Video above via Patch)

Santorum was stepping down from a makeshift stage after delivering a stump speech at Rivier College in Nashua when the question rang out above the voices of the other reporters in the area. Some members of the press corps seemed surprised at the query.

Questions of this nature have become a common theme for Santorum as he crisscrosses the Granite State, hoping to continue his recent surge with a strong showing in Tuesday's primary.

At a campaign stop at the College Convention 2012 last week, Santorum faced an aggressive line of questioning from a college student who pressed the former Pennsylvania senator on his opposition to gay marriage. Though many have said that the recurring emphasis on social issues is actually a detriment to a campaign that would prefer to focus on other topics, such as jobs and the economy, Santorum has proven willing to engage in detailed and lengthy defenses of his stances.

And despite the sometimes prickly nature of the exchanges, Santorum told The Huffington Post's Howard Fineman recently that people were largely supportive of how he's handled these encounters so far.

"I had people all over the country talking about that event and saying how amazing that event was," Santorum said. "They told me they were amazed at my demeanor talking with those people who disagreed with you. You had a civil discussion about really tough and heartfelt issues and boy, why isn't American politics like this any more?"