Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum has accused the American Civil Liberties Union of trying to force religious hospitals to provide abortions.

In an opinion editorial published in the Philadelphia Inquirer late last week, Santorum wrote the ACLU is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which controls nearly $800 billion in President Obama's latest budget, to strip federal funding for hospitals that don't provide abortions.

Santorum accused "liberal elites" of using changes in healthcare policy to make abortions more accessible.

If the ACLU succeeds, "it will score two victories: a new path to abortions, and a massive blow to the rights of religious Americans," Santorum wrote.