Joy Behar: Profits are the 'Real Immorality' of Abortion

November 4th, 2009 8:45 AM

Profits, not the killing of unborn children, are the "real immorality" of abortion, according to "View" panelist Joy Behar.

Behar expressed her unique view of morality during  the Nov. 3 "Hot Topics" discussion about Abby Johnson, a Texas Planned Parenthood director who resigned from her post last month after seeing an abortion on an ultrasound.

Johnson explained to the local Texas CBS affiliate that Planned Parenthood had been pressuring her to focus on abortion, not pregnancy prevention because abortions brought in more money than family planning services.

ABC's "View" host Barbara Walters brought up Johnson's story, calling it "controversial" and Behar quickly denounced Planned Parenthood for making money off abortions. She called it "gross" and "obnoxious" before she stated, "I don't see abortions as a profit-making industry. I think that that is the real immorality of it."

Sherri Shepherd insisted that Planned Parenthood does profit from abortions and offered her own experience to confirm what Johnson saw at the clinic in Texas.

Shepherd related:

 When I was considering an abortion, I went to a Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, California, and when I sat there in front of that lady, she wanted me to fill out the form and she was rushing me through. And I said to her - I was 17. I said I'm not quite sure what I should do. And she was pressuring me to get the abortion. We ended up leaving because I was just scared. But they never gave me any alternative or any other thing.

Despite the news from Texas and Shepherd's testimonial, Walters warned the women not to "condemn all of Planned Parenthood because of one" clinic. Walters also praised Planned Parenthood for "giving advice" and "helping people who may not want to have their baby."

"I don't think anybody really wants to push an abortion. I'm surprised to hear this," stated Walters.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck wondered if Johnson would now "advise people who were walking in uncertain to watch a video" of an abortion "before they were to make a decision." This sparked a discussion about the decision-making process that surrounds abortion.

While one of the arguments pro-abortion activists use is that abortion is not always an easy decision, Behar inexplicably refused to allow Hasselbeck to make the same argument.

"It's never an easy [decision], mark my words there," stated Hasselbeck. Behar responded in a condescending manner, "To some people, Elisabeth, believe it or not, it is a very easy decision. I know that's hard to understand."

Hasselbeck and Shepherd argued in favor of showing women a picture of a fetus before during the decision process. "Some people don't think of it as a fetus," said Shepherd. "Maybe they'll think about it differently if they saw - remember when I brought in the ultrasound -" started Hasselbeck.

Shepherd added, "I think some people think it is an easy decision. But I think that time goes by and I don't know, sometimes it just hits you." Walters quickly refuted Shepherd's words, "But for other people it doesn't hit them."

Walters concluded the segment by citing reasons women seek abortions. "Listen, if you've got five children and and you can't cope with these children or you have been raped, or it is incest, there all different reasons. Nobody says, I hope this is fun, let's do it."

And just like in Shepherd's experience with Planned Parenthood in LA, there was no room for any alternatives and the show rushed to commercial.