A sex worker who claims she had a long-standing relationship with married, family values Republican senator and candidate for Louisiana governor David Vitter dropped a bombshell accusation one week before voters go to the polls. Wendy Ellis claims she had an affair with Vitter, he impregnated her and then asked her to abort the baby. Ellis says she did not, instead putting the child up for legal adoption, according to WDSU.

In a video interview by Jason Berry, who posted it to his American Zombie blog, Ellis said she maintained a relationship with Vitter for three years after meeting him when he was a state representative in the 1990s. She said the two of them stopped seeing each other when she was six months pregnant, and she knows he was the father because she wasn’t sleeping with anyone else at the time.

Vitter, on the other hand, told media outlets on Friday that he “was guilty as charged” and that he “could no longer bear the shame of his previous sins in the face of his family, friends, and most importantly, voters.”

“I admit, I was romantically involved with that woman,” Vitter said, visibly shaken up. “I would like it to be known that the mistake I have made by throwing away everything my loving wife has helped me build was my single greatest error over the course of several decades of my life. I deeply regret taking those steps, and I confess to all of it today in hopes of finding redemption.”

He also added: “As for the accusations that I wanted Ms. Ellis to have an abortion, I can only say that when it comes to an abortion from the perspective of one’s legal wife, that is a sin. On the other hand, when it comes to the abortion of a mistress, it represents a simple necessity. Come one, I know all the guys among you press people agree with me, surely? So, hopefully, that clears up the whole situation on that particular issue. And now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a lot of political battles to be won, including the anti-abortion one.”