Abortions for me but not for thee? GOP Colorado State Rep. Richard Holtorf was raked over the coals by a local news reporter over his support for a bill limiting abortion rights in the Centennial State despite having footed the bill for a girlfriend’s abortion procedure in the 1980s. “If abortion was the best choice for your girlfriend, why try to deny that choice to other women?” KUSA host Kyle Clark asked the state lawmaker Thursday in a wince-inducing interview lasting more than 45 minutes. Holtorf, who is running for a US Congress seat, made headlines in January for an eyebrow-raising revelation on the floor of the Colorado House that he once paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion so she could “live her best life.” The unusual admission happened while discussing a resolution by the Democrats to mark the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, which established a woman’s federal right to an abortion — until the Supreme Court overturned it in June 2022. The staunchly pro-life rep also admitted to impregnating “another beautiful woman,” but said they ultimately gave the child up for adoption, local outlet 9News reported at the time. He later issued a series of statements walking his remarks back before ultimately disavowing them altogether. After Clark’s blunt-as-a-hammer question — which he fired out about three-quarters of the way through their discussion — Holtorf began his response by identifying himself as “a pro-life Catholic,” before asking the host if he had seen his remarks on the House floor. “I did, in fact, I just quoted from it,” Clark said as Holtorf shifted in his seat. The men spoke over one another for the next minute or so before Clark unleashed another haymaker while gesturing with his arms. “I’m asking: why is an abortion good for your girlfriend, bad for other women? That’s my question,” the journalist again asked. “Simple, simple question.” Holtorf sniped back, “So, you deflected. And you did a good job of it, by the way,” before defending the “major theme” of his January remarks to House colleagues, noting that he had said “choose life” 20 times in his comments. The Republican said he learned the girlfriend was pregnant the week he deployed to “military training” in the summer of 1986, and that by the time he returned, she had already undergone the procedure. “Was that her choice? Yes. Did she have that right? Yes. Was that my choice, Kyle? No.” Not letting up, Clark hit right back at the rep, “Why do you seek to deny the choice, that you said was best for your girlfriend’s life, to other women?” Holtorf stammered “I don’t, I don’t,” to which Clark interjected, “You have voted to restrict abortion access,” to which the rep replied, puzzlingly, “I have,” before touting the bill he introduced in the state legislature that criminalizes abortions after 22 weeks. “That’s the entire crux of this question, which you still have not answered,” Clark responded incredulously. After an unproductive back-and-forth for several more minutes, Holtorf acknowledged it was “a very sad time in my life, 100%. It was terrible,” adding that “because now the son I could have had, I don’t have.” “Maybe that young person could have grown up to be something very special, I don’t know,” he added. He said he and his girlfriend continued the relationship for a short time after but that in the end “it didn’t work out.” Clark made one final vain attempt to pin the rep down on his contradictory statements, but Holtorf made a sharp pivot to talk about Colorado’s abortion bill, which he claims allows a woman to terminate her pregnancy “up until the moment of birth.” Holtorf was involved in a few other bizarre happenings since assuming office in 2019. In 2021, he drew the ire of House colleagues when he called an unidentified colleague “Buckwheat” after he was interrupted while speaking. He apologized to colleagues on the floor of the Colorado House. He also drew unwanted attention when he dropped his handgun inside the state Capitol in March 2022 as he was rushing to a vote. There were no injuries and the gun did not discharge.
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