Abortion for me and not for you?
Colorado Republican Rep. Richard Holtorf was roundly criticized by local news reporters for supporting a bill to restrict abortion rights in his state, even though he paid for his girlfriend’s abortion in the 1980s.
“If abortion is the best choice for your girlfriend, why would you try to deny that choice to other women?” KUSA host Kyle Clark asked the state lawmaker on Thursday. A daunting interview It lasts for more than 45 minutes.
Holtorf, who is running for the US House of Representatives, made headlines in January when he made a shocking revelation on the floor of the Colorado state legislature that a former lover had paid for her abortion so that she could “live her best life.”
The extraordinary admission came as Democrats were debating a resolution commemorating the historic Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s federal right to an abortion. The Supreme Court overturned the decision in June 2022.
The staunchly pro-life leader also admitted to impregnating “another beautiful woman”, but ultimately gave the child up for adoption, local media said. 9News It was reported at the time.
He subsequently issued a series of statements retracting his comments and eventually denying them entirely.
After a blunt-as-a-hammer question posed by Clark about three-quarters of the way through the debate, Holtorf began his response by identifying himself as a “pro-life Catholic” and asking the moderator if he’d seen his remarks on the House floor.
“In fact, I just quoted from there,” Clark said as Holtorf shifted in his seat.
The two men talked for another minute or so before Clark swung his arm and delivered another powerful punch.
“What I’m asking is why abortion is good for your girlfriend but bad for other women? That’s my question,” the journalist asked again. “It’s a very simple question.”
“So you made an excuse. And you made a good point, by the way,” Holtorf countered, defending the “major themes” he told House members in January, noting that he used the phrase “choose life” 20 times in those remarks.
The Republican said he learned his girlfriend was pregnant the week he deployed for “military training” in the summer of 1986, and when he returned she had already had the surgery.
“Was it her choice? Yes. Did she have the right? Yes. Was it my choice, Kyle? No.”
Clarke relentlessly hit back at her rep: “Why would you deny other women the choice you say is best for her life?”
Holtorf stammered, “I don’t think so, I don’t think so.” Clark interjected, “You voted to restrict access to abortion.” A perplexed Holtorf replied, “I do,” before touting a bill he introduced in the state Legislature that would make abortion a crime after 22 weeks of pregnancy.
“That’s the crux of the question, and you haven’t answered it yet,” Clarke replied incredulously.
After a few more minutes of fruitless back and forth, Holtorf admitted that “it was 100% a very sad time in my life. It was the worst,” adding, “I no longer have the son I should have had.”
“Maybe that young man will grow up to be something special, I don’t know,” he added.
He said he continued his relationship with her for a while afterwards, but it ultimately “didn’t work out.”
As Clark made a final, futile attempt to pin down the senator’s contradictory statements, Holtorf launched into a conversation about a Colorado abortion bill that he said would allow women to terminate pregnancies “up until the moment of birth.”
Holtorf has been involved in some strange incidents since taking office in 2019.
In 2021, he drew the ire of House members when he called an unidentified colleague a “buckwheat” after being interrupted during a speech. He apologized to his colleagues on the floor of the Colorado House of Representatives.
He also He dropped a gun inside the state capitol He was shot at while rushing to vote in March 2022. No one was injured and no shots were fired.
