The Wednesday edition of ABC’s The View kicked off with a discussion of a recent federal court ruling that left a Texas pro-life law intact which did set well with the assembled quintet as the fearmongering went from accusations that women will die, that doctors will have to violate the Hippocratic Oath, that women will not be able to get treatment for ectopic pregnancies, to pro-lifers being upset that women are having sex outside of marriage.
Whoopi Goldberg began, “So, yesterday a federal court ruled the Biden Administration cannot use a 1986 emergency care law that would require Texas hospitals to provide abortions for women whose lives are at risk due to pregnancy. So, they're okay with forced childbirth even if it kills someone, because they're so pro-life. What about all that?”
As the supposed conservative on set, Alyssa Farah Griffin should have pointed out that Texas already has a life of the mother exception and so that is not really what the case was about. Instead she declared, “I think this is draconian and backward and I don’t think states like Texas are operating in good faith. There are people in this country who have strong convictions against abortion. I think at a minimum we should be able to unite around the idea that there is always, under all circumstances an exception if the life of the mother is at risk.”
Sara Haines followed up by adding, “Well, doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. They have minutes to make a decision. If you are haunting and burdening these medical professionals with the risk of lawsuits because they're going to save a life and you cannot say you're pro-life and let someone die in front of you, the woman is right in front of you dying and you say you can't help them. That flies in the face of humanity, the medical professional, the laws, like there’s no way it could hold.”
Sunny Hostin then tried to argue the court got it wrong. After reading from the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, she claimed, “Now, when I read that, that tells me if you have a woman that comes in that's having, let's say an ectopic pregnancy. That can kill her, that's an act of labor for a child that will not survive, you must treat that person. Yet, this federal appeals judge said, you just have to stabilize her, I think this is going to go further, I think this is going to go beyond this court, because I think they got that wrong.”
Texas never banned treatment for ectopic pregnancies—even the Texas Tribune grudgingly admitted that in 2022—but just to be crystal clear in a way even The View can understand, the state recently passed a law that took effect in September explicitly declaring that treating an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion.
Later, Joy Behar claimed to discover the real reasons why pro-lifers do not support abortion, “You know, women suddenly after Roe v. Wade, women could have sex out of marriage where you didn't have to be married to consummate a relationship and they don't like that. They don't like that.”
Not nearly as much as The View doesn’t like factual information.
Here is a transcript for the January 3 show:
ABC The View
1/3/2024
11:02 AM ET
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, yesterday a federal court ruled the Biden Administration cannot use a 1986 emergency care law that would require Texas hospitals to provide abortions for women whose lives are at risk due to pregnancy. So, they're okay with forced childbirth even if it kills someone, because they're so pro-life. What about all that?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Speaking of pro-life, we just lost someone.
[off set noise]
[crosstalk]
I wanted to make exactly that point where I think it sets back the pro-life cause if you're saying that you're not even at the bare minimum going to have exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. I think this is draconian and backward and I don’t think states like Texas are operating in good faith. There are people in this country who have strong convictions against abortion. I think at a minimum we should be able to unite around the idea that there is always, under all circumstances an exception if the life of the mother is at risk.
SARA HAINES: Well, doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm. They have minutes to make a decision. If you are haunting and burdening these medical professionals with the risk of lawsuits because they're going to save a life and you cannot say you're pro-life and let someone die in front of you, the woman is right in front of you dying and you say you can't help them. That flies in the face of humanity, the medical professional, the laws, like there’s no way it could hold.
SUNNY HOSTIN: I think what's unfortunate about it is that it's winding its way through the courts again, right, and so what the Biden Administration tried to do because we have not codified this right in Congress is that they tried to use this federal law and it's called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, and it's a federal law and generally federal law always trumps state law, all the time, all day every day and the provisions include that if the exam reveals an emergency condition, “the hospital must provide," must "all necessary stabilizing treatment such as the serious dysfunction of any organ or even active labor.” Now, when I read that, that tells me if you have a woman that comes in that's having, let's say an ectopic pregnancy.
JOY BEHAR: Which I had.
HOSTIN: That can kill her, that's an act of labor for a child that will not survive, you must treat that person. Yet, this federal appeals judge said, you just have to stabilize her, I think this is going to go further, I think this is going to go beyond this court, because I think they got that wrong. I'm not a proponent of abortion.
…
BEHAR: It's a kind of reaction formation to the sexual revolution which happened like 30, 40 years ago.
GOLDBERG: 50 years ago.
BEHAR: You know, women suddenly after Roe v. Wade, women could have sex out of marriage where you didn't have to be married to consummate a relationship and they don't like that. They don't like that. Why are they stopping us from doing that-- are you 48, 46? What's it called? That morning after pill.
HAINES: The morning after pill.
BEHAR: There's one pill that works, I believe, before the egg is even fertilized so you haven't even had a chance to create a life. They don't want that either so what does that tell you? It tells you they're controlling women. That's why we have to vote in the next election en masse against Republicans.
