Hadley Duvall records abortion rights ad for Democratic campaign

Hadley Duvall, the Kentucky woman who rose to prominence after recording an abortion-rights ad for Gov. Andy Beshear, is back with a new ad, this time in support of President Joe Biden.

The Duvall ad is going live as Republican vice presidential pick and U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio takes the stage at the party’s convention Wednesday night, according to a Biden campaign email.

Titled “They Don’t Care,” the spot shows Duvall putting on makeup while talking about the fear she felt as a child due to sexual abuse and rape by her stepfather. Duvall got pregnant at age 12 and ultimately had a miscarriage.

“The first thing that was told to me when I saw that positive pregnancy test was ‘You have options,’” Duvall says in the ad. “And you know if Roe v. Wade would have been overturned sooner, I wouldn’t have heard that … There’s someone who doesn’t get to hear that now.”

“Girls like me across the country are suffering … Trump and J.D. Vance don’t care about women. They don’t care about girls in this situation," Duvall says. "They will continue to take our rights away."

“In this election, we have a choice,” Duvall concludes.

The ad will run in battleground states and is aimed at “younger and more diverse audiences,” according to a Biden campaign email.

Viewers can expect to see it while watching 60 Minutes, the upcoming WNBA All-Star game, The Bachelorette, and pre-Olympic coverage, and the ad will “receive a seven-figure investment,” according to the campaign email.

The Trump campaign hit back at the ad.

“Joe Biden does not have any good policy of his own, so his failing campaign peddles lies about President Trump's views in a dishonest attempt to fear voters into supporting him,” said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Trump for President.

Who is Hadley Duvall? 

Hadley Duvall, in her early 20s, is from Owensboro.She shot to statewide prominence after her ad for Beshear during his race against Daniel Cameron went viral last fall.

The ad put a spotlight on Cameron’s position on whether Kentucky’s very strict abortion law should include exceptions for pregnancies due to rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother. Cameron appeared to oppose such exceptions, though he also said his heart went out to Duvall.

Duvall has remained on the political stage since Beshear won. For example, she supported state Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, in his unsuccessful efforts to get a law passed to provide for exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion law during this year’s legislative session, standing by his side during press conferences at the Capitol.

Duvall has appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe with Vice President Kamala Harris and published an opinion piece in the Courier Journal calling on people to vote in November to protect abortion rights.

Where do the candidates stand on abortion?

The Republican National Convention this week endorsed a platform that echoes former President Donald Trump’s position that states should make their own abortion policies.

“Trump has been very clear – he supports the rights of states to make decisions on abortion, and supports exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother,” press secretary Leavitt said.

Vance said Wednesday on Fox News that he will support Trump’s approach to allowing states to take the lead on abortion policy.

But in 2022 he said he was open to a national abortion ban, CNN reported.

Biden, meanwhile, strongly supports abortion rights. “Joe and Kamala (Harris) are fighting to restore the protections of Roe—and they will never allow a national abortion ban to become law,” his campaign website says.

His administration earlier this month sent a message to doctors reminding them they must perform emergency abortions to save a woman’s life after the Supreme Court ruled that Idaho hospitals must perform the procedure despite a ban in that state while a related court case is pending.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at [email protected] or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @RebGrapevine.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentuckian Hadley Duvall featured in a new ad for Democratic campaign