Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) announced this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference that she’s going to be a 36-year-old grandmother. At the very same gathering, the anti-abortion lawmaker also said that she wants to ban comprehensive sex ed in public schools. Huh!
Boebert won the Mothers of Influence Award at the CPAC Women’s Breakfast last weekend, and shared in her acceptance speech the news that her 17-year-old son, Tyler, had gotten his girlfriend pregnant, and they’re having a boy. It’s not known how old his girlfriend is, but Tyler turns 18 on March 21, and Boebert said the baby is due in April.
Boebert—who came very close to losing her seat in November—herself dropped out of high school during her senior year when she was pregnant with Tyler and later earned a GED. She has four boys with husband Jayson, who exposed himself to a teenager at a bowling alley, for which he served jail time and two years’ probation.
In her comments, Boebert didn’t actually seem all that pleased about becoming a grandmother the year after she could legally run for president. “When I approached him and told him, ‘Tyler, I’m going to be a 36-year-old grandmother,’ he said, ‘Well, didn’t you make granny a 36-year-old granny?’ I said, ‘Yes, I did.’ He said, ‘Well then it’s hereditary.’ Nice try buddy.”
But then she tried to spin it into a nice little story about rural teenagers being more pro-life than their urban peers. Here’s that part, which has huge correlation-doesn’t-equal-causation energy:
One of our biggest fears was not, “What are you going to do? What are people going to say?” Our biggest fear is, “Are they going to choose life?” And they did. We are so proud of them for making that sacrifice and being selfless in that position to say there’s something greater here. So we’re working together with them to make sure that they are amazing parents, that they have the love and support that they need. And you know there’s something special about rural conservative communities—they value life. If you look at teen pregnancy rates throughout the nation, well, they’re the same in rural and urban areas. However, abortion rates are higher in urban areas and teen mom rates are higher in rural conservative areas, because we understand the preciousness of the life that is about to be born.
Or maybe—just maybe—rural teens are pressured by their conservative parents to not have abortions? And even if they wanted to end the pregnancy, abortion is harder to access in rural areas? Food for thought, Boebs!
Here’s a partial clip of her comments, or you can watch the whole thing on YouTube at the one-hour mark:
Let’s be clear, Boebert only shared this news at CPAC because it was to a friendly audience of anti-abortion women. Multiple TikTokers had found what appeared to be a baby registry for Tyler and his girlfriend in late February and earlier this month—and the baby is due in April, so it was only a matter of time before a news outlet found out and reported it.
In any case, my sincere apologies to this girl who will now be tied to Boebert for the rest of her life.