Top Santorum donor: Women could use aspirin 'between their knees'

In a startling outburst Thursday, the multimillionaire who's given most to a super PAC supporting former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) for president remarked that universal contraception coverage for women shouldn't be needed because, "Back in my day, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives."

"The gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly," he told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell.

The comment comes by way of Foster Friess, the 71-year-old multi-millionaire former investment manager who's become the largest donor to the Red, White and Blue fund, which supports the Pennsylvania Republican.

Aspirin is a painkiller, not a contraceptive. It's not clear exactly what Friess meant, but the seeming implication is that women should just keep their legs closed to avoid pregnancy, instead of using modern contraceptives.

The saying is an old addage that has, at least in one case, promoted the type of sexual ignorance that ruins lives. A "Dear Abby" column in 2007 addressed the very same saying by recounting the tale of a 15-year-old girl whose father told her to put an aspirin "between her knees" to avoid pregnancy. The girl's mother wrote that she ended up pregnant after having sex at age 15, mostly because that phrase was the extent of her sexual education.

Santorum, who's avidly anti-abortion and anti-contraception, has previously said that if he were elected president, he would ensure that criminal charges are filed against doctors who carry out abortions. He's also called for an end to hormonal birth control, which would apply to virtually all of the most common forms of female contraception, including "the pill."

Friess has explained he thinks Santorum would be the best candidate for Republicans because he has the least amount of political baggage out of the other leading candidates.

All private health insurance policies will be required to provide contraceptive coverage later this year as part of the Affordable Care Act's mandate for free preventative care. Religious organizations will be exempt from paying any part of this coverage if they object, the Obama administration said last week.

This video is from MSNBC, broadcast Feb. 16, 2012.