Republican Greg Abbott says he grieves for Democrat Wendy Davis after his gubernatorial opponent revealed that she once had an abortion upon learning that the fetus had a severe brain abnormality.
Abbott said Saturday in a statement that "the unspeakable pain of losing a child is beyond tragic for any parent." He said he grieves for the Davis family and the loss of life.
Davis discloses the abortion for the first time in her new memoir "Forgetting to be Afraid." She had become pregnant in 1996 but had the abortion after doctors told her the child would be deaf, blind and in a permanent vegetative state.
Davis said she fell under an "indescribable blackness" afterward.
Abbott, who opposes abortion, and Davis are vying to replace Gov. Rick Perry next year.
