Monday evening, Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast (and formerly of Salon) published a blockbuster scoop: Herschel Walker, former NFL running back and current Georgia Senate candidate for the GOP, allegedly asked for and paid for a girlfriend to get an abortion in 2009. Walker has taken a hard line against abortion, wanting it banned in all cases, even to save the life of the pregnant person. The woman, who understandably wants to remain anonymous, substantiated her claim with a receipt from the abortion clinic, a check from Walker, a get-well card he gave her, and the testimony of the friend who took care of her after the abortion.
Walker denies it happened. Walker also has a history of shameless lying, to the point where his own campaign aides describe him as a "pathological liar." He claimed to have graduated in the top 1% of his University of Georgia class, but in fact, he didn't graduate college at all. He lied about a career in law enforcement and training with the FBI. Like his mentor, Donald Trump, Walker has repeatedly lied about his business, claiming successes that aren't real. He had multiple secret children, even lying to his own campaign to hide them. As far as Walker's credibility goes, it might be safer at this point to assume anything he says could well be a lie. But that does not mean he will lose Christian right support over allegations of a secret abortion. They will simply scream "fake news!!!!" to dismiss this deeply reported allegation, and call it a day.
