Whoopi Schools Guest Host Amanda Carpenter: 'There's No Mandate' to Get an Abortion!

Republican commentator Amanda Carpenter attempted to make a name for herself this morning on The View by taking up an anti-abortion position, but she ended up walking right into one of Whoopi's patented monologues. When Carpenter called California Gov. Gavin Newsom's new gun legislation, which is modeled on Texas' abortion ban, "a recipe for disaster," Whoopi laughed off the guest co-host's naïveté and issued a lengthy screed about the importance of having access to safe, legal abortions. "I, too, am pro-life," said the longtime moderator. "No one that I know who has had an abortion went willingly or happily. They went because they had to go! Because they didn't have a choice."

Carpenter, a former senior staffer to Sen. Ted Cruz, seemed eager to stir the pot Monday morning as she called out Newsom's Texas-inspired gun legislation, which would allow private citizens to sue to enforce California's ban on assault weapons. "Listen, I'm pro-life. I believe that when you look at an ultrasound and you see a heartbeat, that is a life," she said. "But this Texas law does not foster a culture of life. It fosters a culture of divisiveness, vigilantism, and the fact that Gavin Newsom says, 'What a great idea. Let's do that to enforce my pet issues' — that is a disaster! You do not answer bad laws with more bad laws."

The guest co-host went on to say that both the Texas abortion ban and Newsom's proposed bill rely on "a legal tactic that pits citizens against citizens." Added Carpenter, "We should have laws that are enforced equally, fairly..."

As Carpenter spoke, Whoopi cracked up from across the table, which stopped the commentator in her tracks. "You're right," said Whoopi with a laugh. "You're right, it just makes me chuckle because that is how it should be!"

CALIF. TO MODEL GUN LAW ON TEXAS ABORTION LAW? California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants a Texas-like law to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons — the co-hosts and guest co-host @amandacarpenter react. https://t.co/RrPGhIa7YK pic.twitter.com/XDooI6KvqV

— The View (@TheView) December 13, 2021

After some more back and forth that saw Sara Haines and Joy Behar praise Newsom's strategy, Carpenter doubled down and brought up other "destructive" ways the law could be used, including by parents who sue their schools over curricula. "That's what's happening, babe," said Whoopi, as a "how does she not know this" smile spread across her face. "They shouldn't have introduced it in the first place, but now they've opened up the door to it. You watch and see how many folks come running through!"

"I don't want anyone to have [an abortion] who doesn't want it. That's the beauty of the law. You don't have to have it," continued Whoopi. "There's no mandate saying, 'You must have an abortion.' The mandate, though, says, 'You can't have one if you need it.' And it's not even that I'm going to allow you to speak to your doctor. If your life is on the line, I don't care. If you're someone who has had to deal with incest, I don't care, doesn't matter. If you've been raped, it doesn't matter. See, this is where it gets murky."

When Carpenter said "we need to actually have a debate" to discuss "what limits" could be placed on abortion access, Whoopi shut it down. "This is all about vigilantism, and it has been for many, many years," she said. "It does not change the fact that you can put a million laws on the books, but if a woman is determined that this is what she needs to do, she's going to do it."

Carpenter will return as guest co-host tomorrow, so viewers aren't done with the Republican talking head quite yet.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.