George Will dismissed Colorado Senate candidate Cory Gardner's support for federal fetal personhood legislation that would outlaw abortions and some birth control measures nationwide, suggesting that Gardner's position is irrelevant because the legislation has “zero chance of passing.”

In his October 17 syndicated column, Will sought to neutralize some of the most controversial parts of Gardner's record: his past support for a statewide personhood bill in Colorado and current co-sponsorship of the Life At Conception Act in Congress: 

Gardner favors over-the-counter sales of oral contraceptives. In addition to being common sense, Gardner's proposal is his way of making amends for formerly advocating a state constitutional “personhood” amendment (it is again on the ballot this year and will be decisively rejected for a third time) and for endorsing similar federal legislation that has zero chance of passage. By defining personhood as beginning at conception, these measures might preclude birth control technologies that prevent implantation in the uterus of a fertilized egg.

While Gardner has denied that the federal bill is personhood legislation that would broadly roll back women's reproductive rights, independent fact-checkers and leading health organizations say he is wrong. The language of the Life At Conception Act would give rights to a “preborn human person,” which is defined as “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” 

Will's defense of Gardner's record on personhood is in line with The Denver Post editorial board's October 10 endorsement Gardner, which pardoned his history of opposing marriage equality and abortion rights. National women's group NARAL: Pro-Choice America blasted the Post for endorsing a candidate with positions “that deeply conflict with the paper's previous editorial stances.”

In contrast to Will's effort to wave away Gardner's record on personhood, some members of the Colorado media have confronted Gardner about it. During an October 15 candidate debate, a local news anchor moderating the forum called out Gardner for giving evasive answers on the personhood legislation: “You continue to deny that the federal Life At Conception Act, which you sponsor, is a personhood bill to end abortion -- and we are not going to debate that here tonight because that's a fact. Your co-sponsors say so; your opponents say so; and independent fact-checkers say so.” 

Will and Gardner also have a powerful ally in common: the Koch brothers-backed group American For Prosperity (AFP). Earlier in the year, The Denver Post reported that the conservative group ran at least $150,000 in ads bolstering Gardner. Meanwhile, Media Matters has noted that the conservative commentator has used his columns to publicly support AFP-backed candidates while simultaneously refusing to “answer whether he had been paid for the appearance or compensated for his travel expenses” at AFP events.