Highlights from the Vance-Walz vice presidential debate

Two men on stage shared women’s personal stories to answer questions about how their administration would handle abortion.

Walz spoke about Amanda Zurwaski of Texas, who was denied an abortion despite a life-threatening infection, and Hadley Duval, who was 12 when she was raped and impregnated by her stepfather. He also suggested that Amber Thurman, a Georgian who reportedly died in 2022 after waiting hours in an emergency room for treatment for complications from taking abortion pills, was able to help.

Walz highlighted Minnesota’s law protecting abortion rights, saying, “There is a very real chance that if Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive today.”

Meanwhile, Vance appeared to soften some of his views on abortion on the debate stage. The vice presidential candidate said that growing up in Middletown, Ohio, he knew many women who had unplanned pregnancies and chose abortions.

One of Vance’s close friends said: “She told me something a few years ago that she felt like if she hadn’t had an abortion, it would have ruined her life because she was in an abusive relationship.”

Vance said he wants Republicans to offer women “more opportunities” to raise families.