Reacting to the bombshell leak suggesting the Supreme Court is set to overturn previous rulings establishing a legal right to abortion, the women of The View on Tuesday went off, declaring that they envision “fascism down the line.”
In a majority draft opinion obtained by Politico, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Roe v. Wade—the 1973 landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide and was later affirmed by Planned Parenthood v. Casey—must be overruled. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the justice wrote in the draft labeled “Opinion of the Court,” which showed four other justices voting with him.
At the top of Tuesday’s broadcast of the ABC daytime talk show, Whoopi Goldberg quickly pointed out that the leaked document was still just a draft and “is not the law yet.” At the same time, she noted, “a lot of Americans are in a panic over the implications,” spotlighting protests at the steps of the high court that began Monday night.
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After airing clips of former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointees insisting that Roe v. Wade was “precedent” and the “rule of law,” co-host Joy Behar fumed that those conservative justices went back on their word. “And now it’s the complete opposite is happening, not that I was surprised,” she added. “We saw this coming.”
The liberal comedian went on to express concern that “this is just the beginning,” stating that the conservative court “will go after gay marriage and maybe Brown v. Board of Education” next.
“They already eroded our voting rights a little bit,” Behar continued. “I see fascism down the line here.”
The panel would spend the next few minutes discussing the “unprecedented” nature of the leak, noting that it’s “never happened in the history of the Supreme Court.” Republicans and right-wing media, meanwhile, have devoted much of their energy to slamming the SCOTUS leak and claiming it’s all part of a liberal campaign to stop Roe from being struck down.
During the next segment, Goldberg launched into an emotional and seemingly personal tirade, asserting that women were forced to give themselves abortions in public spaces prior to Roe.
“I will tell you this is my body, and nobody—you know, you got people telling me that I have to wear a mask or don’t wear a mask or do this,” she exclaimed. “Everybody wants to tell me what to do, but you won’t let me make my decision about my body! You are not the person to make that decision. My doctor, myself, my child, that’s who makes the decision.”
Goldberg then graphically recalled how difficult it was for women to get safe and legal abortions before 1973, worrying that self-induced and illegal abortions would become the norm soon.
“Women in this country lived forever with it being illegal, okay? Women, when they decide something is not right for them, they’re going to take it into their own hands,” she declared. “We got tired of tripping over women in bathrooms, public bathrooms, who were giving themselves abortions because there was nowhere safe, nowhere clean, nowhere to go!”
Goldberg continued: “This law came about because people wanted people to have somewhere safe and somewhere clean. It has not to do with your religion. This is not a religious issue, this is a human issue! If you care about me as a human being, you should know three things.”
The Oscar-winning actress concluded by railing against those who wave off the concerns of women who are now distraught that they may be soon unable to get a legal abortion.
“It’s not something people do lightly. It’s not something that you can just do,” she proclaimed. “It is a hard, awful decision that people make… if you’re starting it by telling me I’m going to burn in hell, you’re not looking out for me as a human being, whether I subscribe to your religion or not, and that is not OK!”
