“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Thursday that “it doesn’t matter” at what point an unborn child should have rights.
The co-hosts discussed the Democrat-led and radical Women’s Health Protection Act, which intended to end bans on partial-birth abortions and lift regulations requiring women to receive an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. Guest co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said a majority of Americans support limitations on abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy.
“This is an uncomfortable conversation we have to have, at what point does a baby in the womb have rights?” Griffin said.
“Listen, it doesn’t matter when you think it is, if I don’t think that that’s when it is—”
“But is it at nine months, is it in the third trimester?” Griffin interrupted.
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“I don’t have to tell you, it’s your decision,” Goldberg replied. “What you do with your body and how your family works and for me, I don’t care what your religious beliefs are.”
“But it’s not even religion, it’s an important philosophical debate,” Griffin interjected. “When does the baby in the womb have rights?” (RELATED: ‘The View’ Co-Host Alyssa Farah Griffin Presses Beto O’Rourke On Whether Abortion Should Be Allowed At 9 Months)
“But it is!” Goldberg said.
A recent survey found that 56% of Americans believe the timeline of a woman’s pregnancy should matter in determining abortion laws, while only 8% say it should not matter, according to Pew Research. Slightly less than half of Americans, 44%, believe abortion should be legal at six weeks of pregnancy, while a growing number, 43%, say it should be illegal by 24 weeks gestation.
Pew Research conducted the survey between March 7-13 with 10,441 respondents and a 1.5% margin of error.
The 1973 landmark decision Roe v. Wade legalized abortion up to the point of fetal viability—22-24 weeks gestation—at a national level. Republican-led states have challenged the case precedent due, as Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt recently passed legislation to ban abortion in all circumstances except in cases of the mother’s life, while Texas passed a bill banning abortion at six weeks gestation, the point where a fetal heartbeat can be detected.