WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who said he opposes abortion without exception, faced new allegations on Wednesday from a second woman who said she had pressured her to have an abortion and paid for the procedure after a six-year relationship with him.
Walker, who hopes to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia in a Nov. 8 election that could determine which party controls the Senate, has previously denied claims by another woman who claims she paid for her aborted in 2009 and later gave birth to one of his children.
Neither woman has publicly revealed their identity. The first to come forward provided supporting documents to the Daily Beast, an online media outlet, including a check.
“I’m done with this madness. I already told people it was a lie,” Walker said when asked about the claim, according to video released by Atlanta media. He called the first wife’s claims a “brainless lie”.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm either woman’s claim.
The woman making the new request, identified only as “Jane Doe”, spoke by phone at a press conference hosted by attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles.
“Herschel Walker is a hypocrite, and he’s not fit to be a US senator,” the woman said. “We don’t need people in the Senate who profess one thing and do another. Herschel Walker says he’s against women’s abortion. But he pressured me to do one. “
Allred said the woman had years of paperwork, including receipts and greeting cards, documenting her romantic relationship with Walker from the late 1980s through the 1990s. She showed some at the conference. hurry.
The woman told reporters she became pregnant in April 1993. The former NFL football star encouraged her to have an abortion and gave her the money to pay for one, she said. declared.
She said she went to a clinic in Dallas with the intention of having an abortion, but decided against it and left. She said Walker convinced her to go ahead with the procedure and drove her to the clinic the next day, where she performed the abortion.
“He pressured me to have an abortion and personally made sure it happened by driving me to the clinic and paying for it,” the woman said in an emotionally charged voice.
Republicans have sought to characterize the allegations against Walker as a “libel” campaign of Democrats and instead pointed to the potential of the Georgian race to decide which party controls the Senate in the final two years of Democratic President Joe Biden’s term.
Walker, a political novice backed by former President Donald Trump, said he opposes abortion, including for rape, incest or to protect the health or life of the mother.
The abortion allegations represent the latest scandal for Walker, a first-time candidate for office who has also faced domestic violence allegations.
Warnock, who is pastor of the Atlanta church once led by Martin Luther King Jr., supports access to abortion and other reproductive health care, saying on his campaign website that the decision to the United States Supreme Court in June to overturn Roe v. Wade “can’t stand”. “
Recent polls show the race is tight, with Warnock holding a lead of just a few percentage points, albeit below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a run-off on December 6.
Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis
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