GOP Rep struggles to explain why he paid for GF's abortion but supports bill limiting it for other women

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: GOP Colorado State Representative Richard Holtorf faced intense scrutiny from a local news reporter for his support of a bill restricting abortion rights in Colorado, despite having paid 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 conducted a notably uncomfortable interview with the state lawmaker on Thursday, June 13, which extended beyond 45 minutes.

Richard Holtorf financed a former girlfriend's abortion

Holtorf, a candidate for the US Congress, garnered attention in January with a startling disclosure on the Colorado House floor. He revealed that he had once financed a former girlfriend's abortion to allow her to "live her best life."

This admission came amid a debate on a Democratic resolution commemorating the landmark Roe v Wade decision, which had granted federal abortion rights until its reversal in June 2022, New York Post reports.

Additionally, the fervently pro-life representative acknowledged fathering a child with "another beautiful woman," a child they decided to place for adoption, as reported by 9News at the time.

Subsequently, Holtorf retracted his statements in a series of clarifications before completely renouncing them.

During a pointed question from Clark, roughly three-quarters into their dialogue, Holtorf identified himself as "a pro-life Catholic" and queried whether the host had witnessed his House floor speech.

“I did, in fact, I just quoted from it,” Clark stated, as Holtorf adjusted his position in the chair.

The men talked over each other for the next minute or so until Clark delivered another powerful punch, accentuating the action with arm gestures.

“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.”

Richard Holtorf revealed his girlfriend was pregnant during his military training

The Republican stated that he discovered his girlfriend was pregnant the week he left for military training in the summer of 1986, and by the time he came back, she had already had the procedure.

Holtorf said, “Was that her choice? Yes. Did she have that right? Yes. Was that my choice, Kyle? No.”

Unwavering, Clark swiftly responded to the representative's actions, “Why do you seek to deny the choice, that you said was best for your girlfriend’s life, to other women?”

Holtorf shot 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, he noted that he had mentioned "choose life" twenty times in his comments.

Clark said incredulously, "That’s the entire crux of this question, which you still have not answered."

Richard Holtorf admitted to a tragic past, including the loss of his son 

Following several more minutes of fruitless back and forth, Holtorf finally admitted that it was "a very sad time in my life, 100%." It was awful, he continued, “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 claimed that although he and his girlfriend briefly kept up their relationship, "it didn't work out" in the end.

After Clark made one last fruitless attempt to confront the representative about his contradicting remarks, Holtorf abruptly changed the subject and spoke about Colorado's abortion law, which he asserts permits a woman to end her pregnancy “up until the moment of birth.”

Following his election in 2019, Holtorf was embroiled in a few more odd incidents.

In 2021, he incited the anger of House colleagues by referring to an unidentified colleague as "Buckwheat" after being interrupted during his speech. He later issued an apology on the floor of the Colorado House.

Additionally, in March 2022, he attracted negative attention when his handgun fell to the floor of the state Capitol as he hurried to a vote. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the firearm did not discharge.

Richard Holtorf faces backlash for his statement

As soon as the New York Post published the news, readers started reacting to it. A reader wrote, "“Rules for thee, not for me” is the tagline of the Republican party."

Another user added, "Do as I say not as I do. Rules are for you and not me. Dump this political reptile in the nearest dumpster, politics has too many sc**nd**ls already."

The third commentator said, "We live in a country full of hypocritical pols who have no sense of shame. Shame on us."

"Pathetic. If you change your mind, that’s fine. Just say it. If you regret a decision, that’s okay. Admit your mistake and own it…But this is shameful," one said.

A person remarked, "Another hypocrite politician what a shocker."

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