In a video the Tennessee Republican Party is sharing, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen says he would support the continued funding of Planned Parenthood if elected to Congress and remains pro-choice on abortion — a stance the former two-term governor has long held.

Footage of the 26-second encounter between Bredesen and an unidentified man, apparently surreptitiously recorded following Bredesen’s appearance last week at Rhodes College in Memphis, was uploaded Friday on a Vimeo account for U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign.

Citing her schedule, the Blackburn campaign declined to attend a planned debate at Rhodes College. Bredesen then held a town hall-style event on campus.

On Tuesday, the GOP posted the video to its YouTube channel.

“Mr. Bredesen, I have a quick question,” the man can be heard asking Bredesen as he shakes his hand. “I was wondering, would you support the pro-choice community and funding for Planned Parenthood if elected to the Senate?”

Bredesen responds by saying he was “not making an issue of this in this campaign,” but that he has “always been there.”

The man continues to ask Bredesen if he would fund Planned Parenthood.

“I’m fine with that,” Bredesen replies. “It’s the funding, the funding for the non-abortion services exists today and I have no problem with that whatsoever.”

The interviewer then asks about Bredesen’s opinion on the organization providing abortion services.

“Well, I don’t have a problem with them doing it, and I have always been pro-choice,” Bredesen said.

Bredesen campaign says position 'long known' by voters

Bredesen campaign spokeswoman Alyssa Hansen said the former governor’s remarks were consistent with his longstanding position on women’s reproductive rights.

“As he says in the video, Tennessee voters have long known that Governor Bredesen believes that a woman's decision about her body is a personal decision that belongs to her in consultation with her family, her doctor, and her pastor,” she said.

Blackburn, the Republican running against Bredesen, launched her Senate bid in October with a video touting her work leading a House investigation into Planned Parenthood’s alleged “sale of baby body parts,” a campaign video Twitter blocked from being promoted as an advertisement on the platform.

She was referencing her role leading the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, which supporters said helped stop any illegal sale of fetal tissue. Democrats criticized the panel as a Republican attack on access to legal abortions.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.