“The View” co-hosts agreed President Joe Biden “does not believe in abortion” due to his Catholic faith during a Thursday segment.
Guest co-host Lindsey Granger said the country, including other Democrats, do not know where Biden stands on the issue of abortion. The president said the right to an abortion comes from being a “child of God” in a Wednesday address regarding the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion set to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We do know where Biden stands. He’s a Roman Catholic. He does not believe in abortion, but he’s the President of the whole United States, and so he is governing as the president,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said. “That’s where he stands, that’s where a lot of folks stand and that’s okay.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin revealed that she opposes abortion as a Roman Catholic, but learned not to impose her beliefs on the rest of the country and toward Americans who may support the procedure. (RELATED: Media Treats Catholicism In Vastly Different Ways Depending On Politics)
“There is that wonderful thing in our country called the separation of church and state,” Hostin said. “That’s something that I learned about in law school and that I think most people know about, and I myself am also a Roman Catholic, a proud Roman Catholic. And I’ve said it many, many times, you ladies have taught me so much when it comes to my position on abortion.”
“I came into this show five years ago saying, ‘I am pro-life and anyone that has an abortion is wrong, they’re killing babies, how dare they?’ And that was my position,” she continued. “My position now is I think it is wrong. I think life begins at conception, that is my faith. I am not going to make that judgement call for anyone else.”
Co-host Joy Behar said when former President John F. Kennedy ran as the first Catholic president he received criticism for his allegiance to the Vatican.
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law” and an attack on a human being with “human destiny.” (RELATED: ‘We Cannot Stay Silent’ On Biden’s Pro-Abortion Stances, Leading Catholic Bishop Says)
The media labeled Biden as a “devout Catholic” when he first assumed office in 2021 despite Catholic bishops and organizations condemning the label due to his support for maintaining abortion laws and calls to codify Roe v. Wade. Father Robert E. Morey denied the then-presidential candidate communion at an October 2019 mass at Saint Anthony Catholic Church in South Carolina for being an abortion advocate.
The president told reporters on Tuesday that Roe v. Wade, along with mainstream religions, state that the existence and beginning of human life is a “question” and therefore the Court should not make a judgement on where life begins.
Catholic teaching states that human life begins at the moment of conception, according to Catholic news outlet EWTN.