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Former The View host Elisabeth Hasselbeck returned this week for a guest hosting slot on the show, and it has not gone over well.
The Christian conservative used part of her time on Wednesday's live show to ramble on at length about her religious beliefs about abortion rights, sparking a heated debate with her fellow co-hosts as well as among viewers on social media.
Hasselbeck's comments came during a discussion of the landslide defeat of a proposed abortion ban in the state of Kansas, which was voted on during the state's primary on Tuesday.
Hasselbeck's co-hosts became visibly annoyed as her diatribe about her religious beliefs continued to drag on for more than two minutes. See it below.
\u201cOn "The View," guest co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck goes on a long anti-abortion rant:\n\n"There are options out there that extend beyond abortion \u2026 I believe our Creator assigns value to life. Those lives have plan and purpose over them, as designed by God."\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1659545297
In her speech, Hasselbeck explained that she opposes abortion because of her religious beliefs and likened abortion to the death penalty. She said:
"There are options out there that extend beyond abortion … I believe our Creator assigns value to life. Those lives have plan and purpose over them, as designed by God."
Hasselbeck's co-hosts were quick to push back on her claims and religious fervor, including co-host Sunny Hostin, who said that as a Catholic she shares Hasselbeck's views that abortion is murder but also feels that such beliefs have no place in American law.
Hostin asked Hasselbeck:
"What if people don't believe in your God?..."
"...I'm Catholic... I believe when you have an abortion you are murdering an unborn child..."
"What do you say to the fact, Elisabeth, that I can't force my religion and my beliefs on other people? That is not the American way."
Hasselbeck responding by reorienting the discussion to one of religious morality, effectively declining to answer the question.
“I think oftentimes we get caught in the ‘right’ legislatively. Like, we’re getting caught in the law. Just because something is a right, doesn’t make it right.”
She went on to claim that Christians should show more mercy toward people who choose abortion, despite it being morally wrong according to her religious beliefs.
"We need to be able to have these conversations about what is really ethical and according to God. I don't force religion, and I also think sometimes in Christianity we need to offer more mercy. We need to not shame women."
Co-host Joy Behar was quick to counter by pointing out the inconsistencies in Hasselbeck's claims and beliefs.
"But when you're prohibiting something you are, in fact, judging them."
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg also pushed back on Hasselbeck's zealotry.
"God made us smart enough to know when it wasn’t going to work for us,” she said. “That’s the beauty of giving us freedom of choice."
Hasselbeck countered by bizarrely holding up a dish towel she brought with her which read, "I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong." Okay then.
As you might guess, Twitter had a lot less patience for Hasselbeck than her co-hosts did.
\u201cLooked forward to Elizabeth Hasselbeck on #TheView thought she might have mellowed out. NOPE. She lost me in 1st segment about her children\u2019s book talking to God. Her extreme views are worst. She can\u2019t understand 60% of us don\u2019t want her religion telling us what how to think.\u201d— maureen panzera (@maureen panzera) 1659541032
\u201cI stopped watching The View because of Elizabeth Hasselbeck. I am sick just seeing her today. Why would you let her on the show today. The energy of the panel is off because she has nothing of value to add.\u201d— Cheryl McCraw (@Cheryl McCraw) 1659540381
\u201cThe weird towel moment takes the cake\u201d— Daniel Aubry (@Daniel Aubry) 1659550300
\u201cCannot believe the View allowed Elizabeth Hasselbeck to throw her religion around to shame women from getting an abortion. If her God is so weak he can't prevent an abortion, she needs a more powerful God. Jus sayin. If she's on there again, I'll be watching a different channel.\u201d— Toby Lynn Armstrong (@Toby Lynn Armstrong) 1659547380
\u201cI agree please never have Hasselbeck back on the view.She makes me sick \ud83e\udd2e\ud83e\udd2e\ud83e\udd2e\ud83e\udd2e\ud83d\udc4e\ud83c\udfff\u201d— Bio (@Bio) 1659622703
\u201cElisabeth Hasselbeck returns to 'The View' and debates abortion with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar https://t.co/I2Wc4BO2kJ via @Yahoo It\u2019s ok being against abortion for your own personal religious beliefs. It\u2019s when you try and force them on the rest of the country that\u2019s wrong.\u201d— Mike (@Mike) 1659579724
\u201cHow many babies have YOU ADOPTED? #GOPWarOnWomen #VoteBlueNoMatterWho \nThe View\u2019 Guest Host Elisabeth Hasselbeck Shames Women for Abortions: \u2018Just Because Something Is a Right, Doesn\u2019t Make It Right\u2019 https://t.co/piGxIuiH5I via @Yahoo\u201d— Mexicanblueeyes (@Mexicanblueeyes) 1659606789
\u201cPLEASE tell me that this is a one-day stint for Elizabeth Hasselbeck. If I want to hear her goo-goo sermons about God, I\u2019ll watch the Christian network. She\u2019s not capable of a real conversation. Just wants the mic for her radical views. #TheView\u201d— WhatTheEl (@WhatTheEl) 1659541068
\u201cOn View today \n\nHasselbeck sure proves why Religion should NOT be in Politics \ud83d\ude31\ud83d\ude31\u201d— ETommyBS (@ETommyBS) 1659550913
Hasselbeck's diatribe came on the heels of co-host Joy Behar revealing that she suffered an ectopic pregnancy that nearly killed her. Behar said she does not consider the procedure she received to be an abortion, an assertion with which Hasselbeck agreed.
But many procedures used to treat ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages are in fact abortions, and many states' present and proposed abortion bans do not carry exceptions for such cases. Life-threatening chaos has already ensued from such laws.