Elisabeth Hasselbeck wastes no time sparring over abortion during The View comeback

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the former cohost of The View who famously said "f--- that" in the presence of Barbara Walters after an on-air spat back in 2006, returned to the talk show Wednesday morning amid its 25th season, and she got right to work in speaking her conservative views on reproductive rights.

Panel moderator Whoopi Goldberg began the show by welcoming Hasselbeck back to the table and calling her the "first conservative" she's been able to have "the best conversations" with on divisive issues. Though Hasselbeck agreed that "relationships matter more than being right," she quickly went up against Goldberg on the issue of abortion, which the Oscar-winning actress noted was an influential issue during Tuesday's primaries, weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

"I believe our creator assigned value to life, and that those lives have plan and purpose over them as designed by God that are not limited to the circumstances of conception, nor the situations they're born into," Hasselbeck said. "I do think there's options out there. There are thousands of agencies that wrap around women that might not be able to care for the baby once born or may not want the baby when they're pregnant, or maybe it was unexpected and they're in a hard situation, but that will come around at no cost and wrap around you. I might not change your minds, but I hope women out there now to look for the nonprofits, look for the agencies that help you create a birth plan and match you with an adoptive family."

Goldberg countered that "God doesn't make mistakes" and "made us smart enough to know when it wasn't going to work for us. That's the beauty of giving us freedom of choice" — to which Hasselbeck immediately responded with a firm "No."

"What about the life in the womb?" Hasselbeck asked. "Life has a plan and a purpose designed by God." She then held up a towel with the words "I'd agree with you, but then we would both be wrong" embroidered on it, which was met with muffled laughter from the studio audience.

The discussion concluded as Goldberg attempted to throw to commercial, looking directly into the camera to emphasize that, despite advocating for the right for pregnant people to make their own decisions about reproductive health care, "nobody at this table is not pro-life, nobody is happy about getting an abortion." Hasselbeck finished: "That's not pro-life."

ABC Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 'The View'

Hasselbeck's return to The View came after a high-profile exit from the series back in 2013, 10 years after she first joined the program.

The View has gone through season 25 without a permanent fifth cohost after Meghan McCain departed the show in late 2021. Current panelists Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Joy Behar all generally harbor liberal views on social and political issues, and the rotating roster of guest hosts sitting in McCain's vacant chair come from conservative backgrounds.

Though the show has yet to confirm or deny anything, recent reports from multiple outlets have said former Trump White House staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin will take on permanent cohost duties. The View is set to officially announce its fifth cohost on Thursday's episode.

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