In a heated clash over the Alabama Supreme Court's recent ruling on human embryos, "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin declared she believes human embryos are babies and said she would feel devastated if anyone harmed the embryos she used in her own in vitro fertilization (IVF) process.
Hostin stood up for her belief on the issue as her co-hosts confronted her on the daytime talk show. Sara Haines pushed back, denying that human embryos are human life.
The topic came up after Alabama’s high court ruled last week that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments should be considered as having the same status as children under state law in wrongful death lawsuits.
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In the court’s majority ruling, Justice Jay Mitchell wrote, "Unborn children are ‘children’ ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics."
That decision caused many fertility clinics in the state to pause their IVF procedures. The issue has caused widespread cultural debate between those who believe that IVF is ultimately negligent with human life, and those that believe women who want kids and can’t have them naturally should have IVF as an option.
The debate spilled over to ABC’s "The View" Friday, with co-host Sara Haines defending IVF procedures, noting that they are necessary for some women. She then declared that embryos are not a life, and therefore the court’s ruling was wrong.
"We talked about how egregious a six-week ban was. A fertilized embryos is three to five days old. It is the size of the pen right there," she said, pointing to the tip of her pen.
"It is not alive outside of a uterus. It has no organs. It is not a life yet. It is not viable ‘til it’s 24 weeks."
Hostin jumped in, disputing her, "You may not think that. There are at least 50% of Americans –"
Haines cut Hostin off, proclaiming, "No, this is science, Sunny. This is science that’s able to create –"
Hostin pushed through, saying, "50% of Americans believe that a human embryo is a baby. I am one of those." Getting through some more crosstalk, Hostin added, "especially because I went through IVF."
Haines shot back, "Yeah, but that doesn’t mean facts change. The embryo is an embryo until ten weeks, when it becomes a fetus. A fetus is not viable 'til 24 weeks. If we’re going to use science, let’s use scientific terms. That’s what that is."
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Undeterred, Hostin continued: "Well, an embryo is the beginning of human life and I know this –"
This prompted co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin to ask, "Well then, why do you support abortion if you believe that?"
Hostin replied, "Oh, I do not support abortion. I’ve said this over and over again. I believe the government shouldn’t be involved in women’s reproductive health."
She continued: "But I believe that abortion is wrong, and I also believe – not only through my faith but through my experience of having two embryos implanted in my body – and I have a 21-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, that my life would not be the same without them."
Hostin concluded her point, adding, "And so, if someone destroyed my embryos, I would feel like someone destroyed my [unintelligible] children."
During past episodes, Hostin has revealed that her Catholic faith is part of why she personally opposes abortion, though she agrees that women should have the right to choose.
In December, she told her colleagues, "I have mentioned many times I'm pro-life. I've received a lot of hate mail for it. That's my personal position, but there has to be a separation between the government and religion."
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
