LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky sexual assault survivor and abortion access advocate spoke at the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Hadley Duvall spoke out against Donald Trump and abortion bans before she introduced Gov. Andy Beshear.
Duvall was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant when she was 12 years old. She told the audience she can't imagine not having a choice.
Hadley rallied for Vice President Kamala Harris and a national law to restore the rights to abortion.
"He calls it a beautiful thing," she said, referencing Trump's comments on the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of abortion protections codified in Roe v. Wade.
"What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent's child?"
Duvall, of Owensboro, first told her story publicly last fall in a campaign ad for the governor's race in her home state, discussing the consequences of abortion restrictions, particularly those without exceptions for rape or incest.
In the ad supporting Gov. Andy Beshear, Duvall spoke of how she was raped by her stepfather at age 12, became pregnant and miscarried. Her stepfather was convicted of rape and is in prison. Duvall called out the anti-abortion Republican candidate — then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron — by name in the ad and said that “anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes.”
Beshear won reelection, and Democrats have said Duvall's ad was a strong motivator, particularly for rural, male voters who had previously voted for Trump for president.
Duvall spoke around 10 p.m. Monday before introducing Beshear, who spoke at the convention for the first time.
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