When asked about paying for a girlfriend’s abortion decades ago, the Republican running against Lauren Boebert for the US House was put in a tough spot.
Early this year, Richard Holtorf, a Republican candidate for the House from the Colorado state House of Representatives, said that he had paid for an abortion for a lover who got pregnant when he was in his early 20s and still in college.
They got angry during an interview with a News 9 reporter on Thursday night.
“Why try to keep other women from having the same choice as your girlfriend if abortion was the best thing for her?” What did host Kyle Clark ask?
The Republican candidate sidestepped the question by asking Clark if he had heard the first things he said about the situation in January. Clark replied that Holtorf’s reasoning in the speech was “scattered,” and he asked the same question again.
The candidate would not say why he decided to take away what he called a “right” from women, who may, like his girlfriend, decide it is best for them.
“I don’t try to take away that right,” Holtorf said.
Clark replied, “You voted to make it harder to get an abortion by passing laws.”
Holtorf replied, “I have.” He also said that he thinks women should always choose life, but that there should be “exceptions” to rules that say they can’t.
“Is it one of the times when Richard Holtorf is the father?” Clark asked.
“No!” It’s not about me!” Holtorf replied. “Don’t make it feel like it’s about me.”
Holtorf first admitted that he had paid for his girlfriend’s surgery during a speech in January on the floor of the state House.
This is what he said about his girlfriend at the time: “I respected her rights and gave her money to help her through her important, critical time so she could live her best life.” He said those things while the chamber was voting on a resolution put forward by Democrats to honor the original Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade, which made abortion rights protected at the government level.
To explain what he said, Holtorf also said that he had a second girlfriend who got pregnant and decided to adopt the child. Holtorf gave a longer explanation on Facebook after being questioned by both fans and reporters in the state. He wrote that it was “the saddest moment of my life” and that he chose to respect “a girlfriend’s decision against life, in my early 20s while attending college.”
The lawmaker from Colorado is one of the most popular Republican candidates in the primary on June 25. The winner will be the party’s choice to replace Rep. Ken Buck, who quit in March. Boebert is running for the seat instead of running for re-election in a more competitive district across the state, where she has been a representative since 2021.
Source: Yahoo News