Colorado Republican Rep. Cory Gardner is still taking heat Monday for suggesting in a debate over the weekend that a bill he cosponsored didn’t exist.
Gardner has taken flak in his tight Senate race against incumbent Democrat Mark Udall for recanting his support for statewide “personhood” initiatives — for which he campaigned even at his church — but continuing to support a bill at the federal level that would declare human life as beginning at conception.
Udall and his supporters have hammered Gardner for co-sponsoring HR 1091, the Life At Conception Act, while claiming to have changed his mind about nearly identical legislation at the state level.
When asked about this apparent contradiction by Denver’s Fox 31 political reporter Eli Stokols, Gardner simply denied the bill exists.
“There is no such thing as federal personhood bill,” he said.
“Cory, the people who wrote that bill,” Stokols replied. “They say … that that’s what the Life At Conception Act is.”
Gardner didn’t answer, but said “all this is,” is politics from Udall’s campaign.
“But the facts are,” Stokols began before Gardner interrupted him.
“No, the facts are, Eli, that there is no federal personhood bill,” Gardner said. “There is no federal personhood bill. I think what you’re seeing, Eli, is an effort by Sen. Udall to run away from his record on energy, to run away from his failed record on the economy.”
Stokols didn’t let him pivot to his talking points, however, and continued to press.
“The bill that your name is on defines personhood as starting at the moment of fertilization,” Stokols said. “Many think it has the potential to ban a number of forms of birth control.”
“I do not support legislation that would ban birth control. That’s crazy,” Gardner replied, before again attempting to turn the line of questioning into an attack on Udall.
The back and forth continued for several minutes, with neither the reporter nor Gardner ceding ground.
“Do you really think that just telling me that it’s not a personhood bill makes it … does saying that make it true?” Stokols asked, seemingly near exasperation.
“I’m not going to defend Sen. Udall’s failed record,” Gardner replied, apparently ignoring the question.
The segment came to an awkward conclusion when Gardner simply repeated, “There is no federal personhood bill.”
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