January 19, 2024 11:20 AM UTC

State House Republicans Just Can't Help Themselves On Abortion

• 5 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark notes the obvious problem::

Republican State Rep. Richard Holtorf, a candidate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, disclosed Friday that he financed an abortion for one of two girlfriends he impregnated, saying it helped her “live her best life.”

Holtorf, who represents the Eastern Plains, made the comment while discussing a resolution by Democrats marking the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established the right to an abortion…

Holtorf did not appear to recognize the disconnect between his statement lauding the benefits of abortion access for his pregnant girlfriend and his staunch opposition to abortion rights, which led him to call abortion rights supporters “godless heathens” last year.

—–

This morning, the Colorado House of Representatives passed a joint resolution commemorating what would be the upcoming anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that for many decades guaranteed nationwide access to abortion care. Debate in the Senate yesterday over this resolution was relatively low-key, with only a single Republican speaking against the measure.

But in the House GOP micro-minority, the “caucus discipline” didn’t last. It started with all Republican members present taking the floor together behind Rep. Brandi Bradley to read what was supposed to have been the caucus’ full and, had events transpired as hoped, disciplined statement lodging their opposition to abortion rights and support for Roe’s downfall in the record. But even this attempt at “restraint” managed to put aspiring congressman “Gabbin'” Gabe Evans directly in the line of fire:

Roe and the cases that stem from it represent a national disgrace, not a point of pride. Many years from now, most of us in this room will be long forgotten. But should any of us attain to such prominence as to endure, and should that record cause future generations to actually recall what we have today to say, I want them to understand without any question that I share no part in applauding Roe nor any part in the efforts here today to praise it.

Let me say it plainly: I do not stand with those that stand with Roe. This should be a day of mourning, not rejoicing. Finally, it should be crystal clear to all of us that life begins at conception. There is no excuse. And because of the loss of my daughter, Emerson Riley, in my womb, I will never stand by quietly while this is promoted. Politicians are shamefully good at remarking or remaking otherwise reprehensible things into okay-sounding initiatives. This should not be one.

The larger debate is not about reproductive health. It is about abortion. It is about taking the life and health of a child. And it is wrong…

Earlier this week on KOA talk radio, Evans tried to toe a more liberal line on abortion rights than the statement he signed on to above, trotting out the familiar “personally pro-life but…” stance that so many other vulnerable Colorado Republicans have tried and failed:

Well, I’m pro-life, first and foremost, you know, and I think the pro-life movement has been working for the last 50 years to have this issue, you know, overturned and referred back to the states. We saw that happen. And so I think that right now it’s up to the state of Colorado to figure out how they are best going to, um, protect life, uh, protect women that are in difficult circumstances and protect unborn babies.

As anyone who hasn’t been living in a cave with no electricity for the past fifteen years, Colorado has repeatedly voted in statewide ballot measures to protect abortion rights in overwhelming numbers. Colorado voters have also watched Republican candidates promise that their “personal” anti-abortion positions somehow won’t be reflected in their policies in office, only for Sen. Cory Gardner to fulfill the worst fears of his opponents. Evans’ evasive answer is right out of Gardner’s playbook, but it won’t work again any more than it worked for GOP Senate loser Joe O’Dea in 2022.

But then, despite this choreographed attempt to limit the collateral damage from a protracted debate in the House over abortion rights, another House member aspiring to a seat in Congress, Rep. Richard Holtorf, knocked this debate into next week with a shocking admission that not only did he pay for a girlfriend’s abortion as a randy youth, but that abortion appears to have had…positive consequences?!

I also believe in women’s rights. I have five daughters. So it’s extremely complex. So let’s talk about the next part of this little story. When I was in college I had a girlfriend and she was a beautiful young woman. And we had the unfortunate experience of her getting pregnant. I’m Catholic, so you know my position on life. But I had to respect her rights. Because she said she didn’t want to keep her baby. And that’s hard. That’s hard for a man who respects women. But I respected her rights. And actually gave her money to help her through her important critical time so she could live her best life. [Pols emphasis]

We can’t imagine Holtorf meant to do it, but folks, what we have here is a Planned Parenthood testimonial. This is a Republican representative admitting that he paid for an abortion so a woman he had impregnated could “live her best life.” It’s an admission of such sweeping importance to the issue Holtorf was ostensibly speaking out against that it momentarily boggles the mind. It could be the end of Holtorf’s higher political aspirations, but it’s the most unintentionally honest thing we’ve ever heard a “pro-life” Republican say about abortion.

Just like it did last election after the Supreme Court ripped the scab off the issue, abortion is emerging in 2024 as the stumbling block Republicans still can’t get past. Holtorf just proved again why politicians like Gabe Evans can’t get away with evasive bullshit answers.