GOP Colorado State Rep. Richard Holtorf has faced criticism for his support of a bill limiting abortion rights in the state, despite having paid for a girlfriend’s abortion procedure in the 1980s. During a 45-minute interview with local news host Kyle Clark, Holtorf was asked why he supported denying abortion rights to other women if it was the best choice for his girlfriend. Holtorf, who is running for Congress, admitted to paying for the procedure to allow his girlfriend to “live her best life.” He also revealed that he impregnated another woman, whom they gave up for adoption.
Holtorf’s controversial statements were made on the floor of the Colorado House while discussing a resolution marking the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, which established a woman’s federal right to an abortion. The staunchly pro-life representative later issued statements walking back his remarks and ultimately disavowed them. During the interview with Clark, Holtorf identified himself as a pro-life Catholic and defended his stance, claiming he had said “choose life” 20 times in his previous comments to House colleagues.
Clark continued to press Holtorf on his contradictory beliefs, asking why he sought to deny the choice of abortion to other women when he acknowledged it was what was best for his girlfriend’s life. The two men engaged in a tense back-and-forth exchange, with Clark questioning Holtorf’s voting record on restricting abortion access and the bill he introduced in the state legislature criminalizing abortions after 22 weeks. Holtorf struggled to provide a coherent answer to Clark’s questions, instead shifting the conversation to focus on Colorado’s abortion bill which, according to him, allows women to terminate their pregnancies up until the moment of birth.
Holtorf admitted that the situation surrounding his girlfriend’s abortion was a very sad time in his life. He expressed regret over not having the son he could have had, speculating that the child could have grown up to be something very special. Despite Holtorf’s attempts to steer the conversation away from his past actions, Clark persisted in trying to hold him accountable for his contradictory statements and voting record. However, Holtorf made a sharp pivot back to discussing Colorado’s abortion bill, which he argued allows abortion up until the moment of birth.
In addition to his controversial statements on abortion, Holtorf has been involved in other bizarre incidents since assuming office in 2019. In 2021, he faced backlash for referring to an unidentified colleague as “Buckwheat” on the House floor after being interrupted while speaking. Holtorf later apologized to his colleagues for the comment. He also made headlines in March 2022 when he dropped his handgun inside the state Capitol while rushing to a vote. Fortunately, there were no injuries and the firearm did not discharge, but the incident still garnered unwanted attention for the state representative.
