‘Disgusting!’ Conservatives torch abortion ban author accused of secretly paying for them

Texas conservatives are piling on a Republican state lawmaker who, despite carrying a bill that implemented a near-total abortion ban in the state, is now alleged to have “funded several abortions for his own personal gain.”

“These elected officials who proclaim faith & family values, but then break their most sacred covenants with God & their families are disgusting,” said former Texas state senator Konni Burton Friday in a social media post on X. “Their families deserve better and so does the (Republican) party.”

That Texas State House member is Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who on Friday was accused of having a long-time affair and having funded multiple abortions by Alex Grace, the woman making the allegation, as reported in the far-right publication Current Revolt.

Capriglione announced this week that he wouldn’t seek re-election ahead of the allegations being made public, but has since released a statement admitting to the affair, but denying that he had ever funded an abortion.

“Years ago, I selfishly had an affair,” Capriglione said. “I’m not proud of this. Thank God my wife and family forgave me, and we moved past it and have the strong marriage we do today.”

On the allegation that he had funded multiple abortions, however, he said the charge was “categorically false,” and threatened legal action against media outlets for "making false and defamatory claims."

Yet despite his denial of having personally funded abortions, conservatives continued the pile on Capriglione, including Bo French, chair of the Tarrant County GOP.

“The allegations made against Giovanni Capriglione are deeply disturbing and chronicle a pattern of behavior incompatible with the values of the Republican Party,” French wrote in a social media post on X. “If Capriglione has an ounce of sense or shame he will resign from the Texas House before he is thrown out.”

In 2021, Capriglione was the lead sponsor on Texas House Bill 1280, dubbed the Human Life Protection Act, which made it a felony punishable with up to life in prison for a medical provider to provide an abortion. The bill was signed into law that same year, but didn’t go into full effect until 2022 with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.