The View’s Whoopi Goldberg chastised co-host Meghan McCain on Monday morning during a debate on the recent “heartbeat” abortion bill passed in Georgia, telling her conservative colleague it is unfair to say liberals don’t believe that science shows life begins at conception.
Discussing actress and activist Alyssa Milano’s much-mocked call for a sex strike in response to the restrictive abortion legislation, McCain said she doesn’t “like clicktivism as a general rule,” referencing Milano’s tweet.
After blasting the liberal actress for not giving her plan much thought, McCain went on to say that Milano and others need to understand that “pro-life women” like herself feel they “are completely left out of conversations like this.”
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“It doesn’t occur to her that there are women like me that don’t have a problem with this bill,” McCain added.
This prompted a debate with fellow panelists Joy Behar and Ana Navarro, with Navarro—a Never-Trump Republican—stating that pro-choice women feel that they’re left out of the conversation with strident bills like this. A somewhat surprised McCain asked the longtime GOP strategist if she was pro-choice, causing Navarro to explain that she is “pro people doing whatever they want” and that there are many grey areas and nuances with abortion.
“I think you have to understand for pro-life women like me—which is a strong tenet of who I am I and how I view the world—is I believe abortion is murder,” McCain huffed. “The idea there is grey in allowing murder in the United States of America—”
Goldberg interjected, saying that it was OK for McCain to feel that way while asking why she was passing judgment on those who don’t believe abortion is murder, prompting McCain to say it was “reductive” before complaining that “women like me are always left out.”
“I’m not passing judgment on you,” Navarro insisted, resulting in McCain sniping back: “It’s okay if you are. Everyone else does.”
As Navarro noted that medical experts should have a greater say on this issue, McCain declared that science “overwhelmingly shows that life starts at conception” before claiming liberals believe the science on climate change but not when it “comes to life.”
“That is your belief,” Goldberg countered, causing McCain to exclaim: “You don’t believe science?!”
“That’s what I don’t want to do,” Goldberg shot back. “Don’t say ‘you don’t believe.’ That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying I don’t believe that the minute you conceive, you’re with child. I believe a lot of things have to happen. The baby has to become zygote.”
She added: “The problem for me is—I’m happy that you feel that way. I want everybody who feels that way to feel that way. What I don’t want is I don’t want anyone telling me what I have to feel.”
The audience, meanwhile, cheered loudly for Goldberg as McCain glared back at her.
At the end of the segment, after Sunny Hostin explained her own pro-life, anti-death penalty, and pro-gun control views as being “consistent,” McCain tried to rebut her argument, but was met with the segment’s hard conclusion. A visibly annoyed McCain then rolled her eyes on-camera.
