Republicans rally behind Herschel Walker after report he paid for abortion


As problems continued to brew Tuesday for Herschel Walker, the GOP's Senate candidate in Georgia, Republicans flocked to stand behind him following a controversy over an alleged abortion that he paid for.
While Walker has pushed a staunch pro-life, anti-abortion platform throughout his campaign, a new report published by The Daily Beast alleges that he once paid for the abortion of a woman he had gotten pregnant. The woman told The Daily Beast that Walker pressured her into getting an abortion following the 2009 pregnancy, and the outlet said the woman provided them with a copy of the receipt from the abortion clinic, as well as an image of a signed $700 check and a "get well" card from Walker.
The Daily Beast claims to have corroborated these details, and The New York Times reported that some Republicans had privately "feared" his abortion story would get out. Despite this, Walker called the woman's story "a flat-out lie" — and Republicans across the party soon came to his defense.
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.
This included Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), who said "Herschel has denied these allegations and the NRSC and Republicans stand with him."
Others, including the NRSC's communications director, Chris Hartline, blamed the Democrats for "[stirring] up nonsense about what has or hasn't happened in Herschel Walker's past."
Perhaps the most prominent Republican to back up Walker, though, was former President Donald Trump. In a statement, Trump claimed Walker "is being slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats."
FiveThirtyEight is reporting that Walker remains neck and neck with his opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
An ancient Israeli cave teaches new archaeological lessons
The Explainer The cave is believed to be one of the world's oldest burial sites
-
Music reviews: Tyler Childers and Madonna
Feature "Snipe Hunter" and "Veronica Electronica"
-
Art review: Noah Davis
Feature Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, through Aug. 31
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
-
Trump criticized for firing BLS chief after jobs report
Speed Read Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer oversaw a July jobs report that the president claims was rigged
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib Bukele
Speed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada
Speed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect