Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker told reporters at a campaign event Friday that he does not believe in exceptions when it comes to banning abortions.
Speaking to reporters after his campaign rally at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon Friday, Walker told reporters that he supports a total ban on abortion, without exceptions. “There’s no exception in my mind,” Walker told reporters, via The New York Times. “Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.” Additionally, Walker said that children have potential no matter their life circumstances. “You never know what a child is going to become,” he said. “And I’ve seen some people, they’ve had some tough times, but I always said, ‘No matter what, tough times make tough people.’” He also expressed support for additional funding for adoption and to support single-parent families.
Reached later for comment by The Hill, Walker’s campaign doubled down, saying that the businessman and Georgia football legend “is pro-life and will not apologize for that.” On his campaign website, Walker describes himself as a “compassionate conservative who is pro-life and pro-family.” “As a Christian, a father, and a husband, Herschel knows that strong families are the bedrock of our country,” the site reads.
Walker’s comments come just a few weeks after he received the endorsement of National Right to Life. “Herschel Walker will be a most effective champion for unborn babies and their mothers in Washington and he has demonstrated the passion and perseverance it takes to win the critically important Georgia Senate race,” National Right to Life president Carl Tobias said in a statement announcing the organization’s endorsement of Walker in April.
In its endorsement announcement, the organization touted Walker’s support for pro-life legislation, and his opposition to taxpayer-funded abortions and the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act. “Georgia deserves a pro-life senator like Herschel Walker who is committed to building a culture of life,” Tobias added. “Walker’s stance for life stands in stark contrast to the out-of-touch record of [incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock] who supports abortion for any reason until birth.”
Earlier this year, Warnock, who served as Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta before being elected to the Senate, drew fierce criticism from pro-life Christian ministers after he described himself as a “pro-choice pastor.”
Walker currently leads Warnock by 0.5 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls in the Georgia Senate race. He also currently holds an enormous 56-point lead in the Republican primary, according to RCP.
Walker’s comments also come after two prominent black Republicans blasted Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for claiming at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that restricting abortion “would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.” Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott pushed back on Yellen during the hearing, calling her comments “calloused,” and later in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
Then, Utah Congressman Burgess Owens blasted Yellen while delivering a powerful pro-life testimonial at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee discussing abortion rights Wednesday. “Secretary Yellen’s comments [are] also deeply offensive to me,” Owens said. “For years, the black community has been disproportionately targeted by the abortion industry. I’ve watched it happen. We’ve lost over 20 million black babies over the last 40 years. That’s 40% of my race exterminated before given a chance to bless our nation with their innate talents.”