Topline
Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate race in Georgia, refuted a report that he paid for a woman’s abortion in 2009 despite the former NFL star’s hardline anti-abortion stance on the campaign trail in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the upcoming midterm elections.
U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaks to supporters during an election night watch party, … [+]
Key Facts
On Monday, the Daily Beast reported that Walker conceived a child with a woman he was dating in 2009 and then encouraged her to get an abortion as it was “not the right time” for him to have a child.
The report notes that Walker paid the woman $700 to cover the costs of the procedure along with some other costs.
The woman has a $575 receipt from the abortion clinic that performed the procedure and said the extra $125 she received from Walker included the “ballparked” cost of travel and recovery, the report added.
The woman told the Daily Beast she agreed with Walker at the time but decided to come forward with her story due to his “hypocrisy” on the issue of abortion access.
Walker angrily refuted the report in a statement on Twitter, calling it a “hatchet job from a democrat activist.”
Walker said he plans to file a suit against the Daily Beast on Tuesday “for this defamatory lie.”
News Peg
Christian Walker, the former footballer’s son, severely criticized him in a series of tweets published hours after the Daily Beast report. Christian Walker claimed the GOP candidate’s family had urged him not to run for office because they were aware of his past but he “decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public.” He then added: “You’re not a ‘family man’ when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us.” Christian Walker himself is a popular TikTok star among conservatives and a vocal Trump supporter like his father. In response to his son’s outburst, Walker tweeted: “I LOVE my son no matter what.”
Key Background
During his campaign trail, Walker—who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump—has taken a hardline stance on abortion, including support for a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions carved out for cases involving rape, incest, and even threat to a woman’s life. Last month, Walker came out in support of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) legislative proposal that seeks a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks. The abortion allegations and pushback from his family could be a major setback for Walker as he is set to face Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in a crucial electoral battle that could determine the control of the Senate.
Further Reading
‘Pro-Life’ Herschel Walker Paid for Girlfriend’s Abortion (The Daily Beast)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/10/04/herschel-walker-denies-he-paid-for-womans-abortion-threatens-defamation-suit/