Republican gubernatorial hopeful Victor Marx is under fire for his stance on abortion. During an appearance last month on the Dan Caplis show, Marx described himself as “pro-life” but acknowledged the limitations of anti-abortion activism in Colorado.
“I’m a child advocate, always have been,” said Marx. “It’d be hypocritical for me not to protect children in the womb who are humans. So there’s only two choices — life or death — and I am for life.”
However, Marx noted Colorado’s laws and constitutional amendments protecting abortion access throughout the duration of a pregnancy. “The people voted … I can’t go in and, you know, do the magical trick,” he said. “But what we can do is help women, help young women who would have an alternative. I worked with Dr. [James] Dobson when the ultrasound machines and that came out, babies started being saved. I think we can help young women and women in general. They don’t have to go all the way to killing a child. There are millions of people that would want to adopt a child right now.”
Ultrasounds have long been a key tactic in the anti-abortion playbook in Colorado and across the country. Conservatives have repeatedly pushed policy proposals that would require pregnant women to have ultrasounds prior to an abortion, the thought being that if forced to view an image of the fetus, the woman will change her mind and carry the pregnancy to term.
For Shari Bjorklund, co-founder of Mesa County Right to Life, Marx’s response on abortion is inadequate. “Whenever a a politician tells you that they’re pro-life and then uses phrases like ‘the people voted;’ ‘it’s in the constitution;’ ‘I’m personally pro-life;’ ‘I hear we need to change hearts and minds;’ that’s a classic deflection by a politician who is ultimately pro-abortion, or at best indifferent,” she said during a Dec. 1 appearance on Ryan Schuiling Live. “It’s a word parsing that’s meant to reassure pro-life voters without committing to action. It is a pro-choice position. ‘I’m not gonna do anything about it.’”
In a Facebook post recounting her exchange with Marx, Bjorklund noted that the candidate became very angry when she challenged him on the topic.
Marx is competing against a host of Republican candidates with anti-abortion bonafides. Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs) has introduced near-annual bills looking to ban abortion or make bringing a minor to Colorado for an abortion a class 2 felony.
Sen. Mark Baisley (R-Roxborough Park) joined Republicans in their opposition to Colorado’s Reproductive Healthy Equity Act, and has consistently voted against legislation to strengthen abortion protections.
Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County) describes herself as “pro-life,”and previously signed petitions for Colorado’s failed personhood initiatives, but declined to answer whether she would support a national abortion ban during her 2022 congressional campaign. After voting against a bill that protected the right to an abortion in Colorado law, Kirkmeyer said, “A baby in his mother’s arms should be just as valued as when that baby was in his mother’s uterus.”
On her Facebook page in 2022, Kirkmeyer wrote “Roe v. Wade was a terrible decision that was not Constitutionally sound, and millions of unborn babies have died as a result.”
During former Congressman Greg Lopez’s gubernatorial bid against Heidi Ganahl, Lopez noted that he opposed abortion in all circumstances, including for rape or incest. “I would like to see abortion not happen in the state of Colorado. I’m a strong believer in life,” he told CPR in 2022. “I personally believe that there should be no exceptions. But as governor, let’s make this clear: the governor doesn’t have that authority. It’s the legislature and the people that decide what’s going to happen.”
In 2022’s Republican Senate primary, abortion became a wedge issue with former Rep. Ron Hanks attacking O’Dea over his support for Roe v. Wade. “Joe O’Dea is now, not only running as a pro-abortion candidate in a Republican primary, he’s siding with the radical Democrat lobby set on taking away states’ rights on the issue,” said Hanks in a news release. “O’Dea’s pro-abortion position defies the Republican National Committee’s and the Colorado GOP’s pro-life platform.”
Abortion has proven to be a potent electoral motivator nationally. In 2023, Ohio passed the ballot initiative Issue 1, which enshrined reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution — contraception, fertility treatment, abortion, and miscarriage care — restoring Roe v. Wade-era access in Ohio and protecting “the right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability.” Former President Donald Trump carried Ohio with 53% of the vote in 2020, but 56.6% of voters supported Issue 1. Ohio joined California, Michigan, and Vermont in amending their state constitutions to protect abortion.
In 2024, Colorado was one of seven states that approved a pro-abortion ballot measure this year, joining Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Maryland and New York in protecting access to abortion. Three states rejected their abortion ballot measures that year — Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota — which some anti-abortion activists saw as a victory.
While Marx, the founder of All Things Possible Ministries, which says it works to help victims of abuse, military personnel, orphans, and widows in “high-threat environments,” has no legislative experience, his profile has risen in conservative Christian circles following the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Marx has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder.
