An online advert from a Democratic candidate who is running for US Congress has gone viral – and for good reason.
Katie Darling’s video is distinctly different from many other political campaigns, because she gives birth in it. And it’s not just acting, she actually delivers her second child in the clip, in a real hospital.
The video, which is just one minute and 25 seconds, shows the aspiring politician delivering her baby boy last month, on September 14. Darling’s voiceover also laments the US’ recent changes to abortion rights after Roe v Wade was overturned – a move which shocked the international community earlier this year.
Darling was seven months pregnant when the Supreme Court announced this ruling. She told HuffPost UK: “It was a terrifying time to be pregnant in Louisiana, with a trigger abortion ban in place that prevents access to medical care.”
The 36-year-old, who has never run for elective office before, included footage of her husband, their six-year-old daughter and their family life in Louisiana on a farm.
She added: “I wanted people to know what it’s like living in Louisiana and having a family here. We rank 50/50 in quality of life in America and the abortion ban only worsens our quality of life.”
She also told USA Today Network that the ad “is resonating with so many people” because it touches on matters close to people’s hearts – climate change, education and reproductive rights.
Darling’s previous tweets have not got much attention, but she told the US network that she and her team “were counting” on the video doing well, especially as “reproductive rights and health are the foundation of my campaign.”
“I’m very proud of the ad and the way it speaks to the moment we’re facing,” Darling told HuffPost UK.
In Louisiana, abortion has been almost completely banned since June 24, 2022, although it is legal to travel out of the state to get an abortion. It’s only permitted where there is a substantial risk to the life or health of the pregnant person or the foetus is not expected to survive the pregnancy.
As Darling explains in her ad: “We should be putting pregnant women at ease, not putting their lives at risk.”
She told New Orleans Public Radio that, as she had a high-risk pregnancy, she wanted to show “how vulnerable you are” when giving birth. She added: “People are talking about reproductive rights and abortion in these like theoretical terms, but it’s real.”
Previously the chief executive of a New Orleans run distiller, Darling now works as an account executive but is keen to move into politics to reform her state.
Darling is up against Republican Steve Scalise, who supported the overturning of Roe v Wade, and who has repeatedly shown his support for anti-abortion laws, anti-gun laws and has denied climate change in the past. He has been in his seat since 2008, meaning it’s a bit of a long-shot for Darling to get elected.
Still, the campaign video has been widely praised for showing a process which is still fairly stigmatised today – giving birth – while also advocating the right to have an abortion.
Others pointed out how the ad showed the different roles women adapt, showing that motherhood is not an obstacle to ambition either.
Fans celebrated how voices like Darling’s would help bring more diversity to the Congress, too.