TUESDAY, Sept. 24 — Gwen Walz, wife of Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz, was visibly stirred today at a campaign stop in Delta Township as she heard a reproductive rights advocate tell her story of being impregnated by her stepfather in Kentucky when she was 12.
“I remember standing in my bathroom, holding a pregnancy test and feeling deeply afraid,” Hadley Duvall, 22, recalled.
After that, though, “The first thing I heard was, ‘You have options,’” Duvall said, not explaining who told her that. “I didn't know what that meant. I was 12. But I knew I would be OK."
“Now, women and girls across this country don't get to hear that.”
The tale hit home for Walz, 58, who appeared before about 75 people on the Lansing Community College West campus, a stop on the “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour.
“Stories have real power. That’s the reason Tim and I decided to share our story, too,” said Walz, referring to his disclosure this year that their child Hope was conceived through in vitro fertilization.
“We struggled to start our family, and we were only able to start a family because we had access to fertility treatments,” she said. “Even then, it was quite a journey.”
She briefly mentioned her second child, Gus, "a huge Spartan fan,” as she urged those also struggling to conceive to “not give up.”
“Those two kiddos are the center of our world, and we can't imagine our lives without them,” she said, adding that women throughout the country deserve the same chance she and her husband had. Her reference was to Alabama, whose Supreme Court ruled this year that embryos created through in vitro fertilization should be considered children. The ruling caused some IVF clinics to pause services.
When Roe was overturned, Walz said she was “proud” of her husband’s leadership as Minnesota’s governor in signing an executive order protecting patients, providers and survivors. She praised Michiganders for taking similar steps to retain abortion access. But she noted that the job wasn’t done.
If former President Donald Trump were reelected this November, she said, those freedoms could be rolled back even further than they already have under a conservative-leaning Supreme Court bolstered by three Trump appointees.
“Because of Trump, more than 20 states have extreme abortion bans, many of them with no exceptions for rape or incest,” Walz said to boos from the audience. “Everyone should have the freedom to build our families as we choose. Just as important, we should have the freedom to decide not to have children at all, too.”
With 42 days until the Nov. 5 election, Walz urged supporters to join her, Duvall and other “courageous women” in sharing how reproductive rights have impacted their own lives.
“I'm asking each one of you to share your story about why you are involved in this election to at least three different people. Let people know that this is personal, let them know what's on the line,” Walz said.
With the crowd fully engaged, Walz asked for one more favor.
“Today, right here in Michigan, we are going to turn the page now,” she said, motioning with her hand.
The group followed her lead.
Duvall, for her part, said she would continue to travel and share her tale.
Duvall, who has said elsewhere that she miscarried, noted that she kept her experience under wraps until Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. At that point, she said, she was shocked at how many of her loved ones celebrated the occasion.
Telling her story was “the most important thing that I've ever done,” said Duvall, who came to national attention when she appeared at the Democratic National Convention.
“State lines don't matter. When I cross every state line, I'm still a survivor,” Duvall said. “I didn't get to choose to be violated in Kentucky. But Kentucky gets to choose to take the voice out of survivors, and that's because Trump made that possible. So, every time he brags about the overturn, it's personal.”
Both quoted Vice President Kamala Harris’ signature line: “We’re not going back.”
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