Georgia GOP Senate pick Herschel Walker, abortion ban proponent, reportedly funded girlfriend's abortion


Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia and advocate of strict abortion bans, encouraged his girlfriend to get an abortion in 2009 and then reimbursed her after she underwent the procedure, The Daily Beast reported Monday night. Walker called the report a "flat-out lie" that he denies in the "strongest possible terms," and vowed to sue The Daily Beast for defamation Tuesday morning.
The unidentified woman gave The Daily Beast proof of her relationship with Walker, the receipt for her abortion, a bank deposit receipt with an image of a $700 check from Walker, and a copy of the signed "get well" card — shown in the article — she says Walker enclosed the check in. The Daily Beast also says it independently corroborated the woman's story with a close friend who cared for her after her abortion.
Walker told the woman an abortion would be more convenient and it was "not the right time" for him to have a child, she told The Daily Beast. She said she agreed, and learned only later that Walker had fathered his second of three out-of-wedlock children with another woman earlier that same year. She said she came forward because of Walker's comments equating abortion to murder and support for bans with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. "I just can't with the hypocrisy anymore," she told The Daily Beast. "We all deserve better."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The allegation that Walker funded a girlfriend's abortion seems to have been an open secret in some circles. Prominent conservative commentator Erick Erickson first said he "thought we all knew this ... old news" about Walker, then later clarified that "it may not have been public," but "it was definitely talked about in quiet discussions."
Christian Walker, Herschel Walker's oldest son, also seemed unsurprised. "You're not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence." he tweeted. "Every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past. Every single one," but "he decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it. I'm done."
"I LOVE my son no matter what," Herschel Walker tweeted.
Read more about the Walker abortion allegations at The Daily Beast.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Life after space: how will Nasa's stranded astronauts cope?
In the Spotlight Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are headed back to Earth after nine months on the ISS – but their greatest challenge may still lie ahead
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The tribes battling it out in Keir Starmer's Labour Party
The Explainer From the soft left to his unruly new MPs, Keir Starmer is already facing challenges from some sections of the Labour Party
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Israeli air strikes in Gaza: why has ceasefire collapsed?
Today's Big Question Start of 'broader and more sustained military operation' denounced by domestic groups representing hostage families
By The Week UK Published
-
White House ignores judicial deportation blocks
Speed Read The Trump administration deports alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, defying a court order
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobs
Speed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine agrees to ceasefire, ending US aid freeze
Speed Read Kyiv made peace with the Trump administration by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire in its war against Russian invaders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
ICE arrests Palestinian advocate with green card
Speed Read Recent Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has had his visa revoked, despite his status as a permanent resident
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published