Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker said he is in favor of a total ban on abortion.
“There’s no exception in my mind,” Walker said to reporters following a recent campaign speech. “Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.”
When pressed for further comment, the Senate candidate’s campaign informed The Hill that Walker is “pro-life and will not apologize for that.”
Exceptions usually refer to abortion scenarios that involve rape or incest, or the mother’s health is in danger. Americans overwhelmingly support abortion availability in those circumstances: 82% of people say abortion should be legal when the mother’s health is at risk, and 79% think abortion should be legal when the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, according to recent polling from ABC-Washington Post.
See also: Starbucks says it will cover abortion travel costs for employees, joining Amazon, Tesla
Abortion has become an increasingly polarizing topic in recent months after a leaked Supreme Court document indicated that the nation’s highest court may be looking to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.
If Roe is overturned, abortion legislation would be made largely by states — Georgia is one of many U.S. states in recent years that has tried to restrict abortions and thus challenge Roe.
A majority of Americans think that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned. According to a January poll from CNN, 69% of Americans want to keep Roe v. Wade intact, while just 30% want the ruling overturned. Those feelings are not a recent shift, either, as support has remained fairly consistent for more than 20 years. Since 1989, between 52% and 66% of U.S. adults have said they want Roe v. Wade to remain, according to Gallup’s polling.
See also: What percentage of Americans support Roe v. Wade? How people really feel about abortion, according to polls
The 2022 GOP primary in Georgia looks to be Walker’s to lose. According to a May poll from Fox News, Walker was polling at 66% of the vote, while the next closest candidate, Gary Black, has just 8% of the vote.
The winner of the primary will take on Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in the general election. Senate seats in Georgia had typically been reliable wins for Republicans prior to 2021, but Democrats got big runoff election victories from Warnock and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2021.
Herschel Walker elbow bumps Donald Trump at a 2020 campaign event.
AP
Walker is a former NFL star running back for the Dallas Cowboys. He attended college at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman trophy. Walker has no prior political experience, but does have the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
The GOP primary for Georgia’s Senate seat will be held Tuesday, May 24.