(LifeSiteNews) –– On a recent episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg once again showed her ignorance of morality by saying that abortion is “not mentioned in the big ten,” meaning the Ten Commandments. When another of the hosts said that it would fall under “Thou shalt not kill,” Whoopi responded by saying, “I think ‘thou shalt not kill’ cannot be used as the block because we allow wars all the time… So there is some conversation to be had.”
Yes, let’s have a conversation.
Aside from the fact that Whoopi Goldberg must never be the go-to person we use when hoping to understand Biblical truths, we should not need anyone to tell us that abortion takes the life of a tiny child and therefore is most definitely part of “the big ten.”
The science of embryology teaches that a new human being is created the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg. It’s that simple.
Whoopi’s rudimentary understanding of theology is evident as she goes on to mention a few of the other commandments, saying they are to make our lives “better” and that they are “commonsense stuff.” For example, she says you shouldn’t lie “because you don’t want people lying to you.” She states, “Don’t mess with somebody’s wife because you’re going to be mad if they’re messing with yours.”
It’s appalling that anyone would take seriously anything this woman says. Yes, Christ gave us the Golden Rule, saying, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you,” but Whoopi is oversimplifying His teaching and does not truly understand His reasoning or the implications of not following Christ’s commands. The reason we shouldn’t lie to others or commit adultery is not just because we don’t want others lying to us or we don’t want to become mad. It’s because these behaviors are morally wrong. Not only do they hurt the people around us, but they hurt our relationship with God, they stain our souls, and they prevent us from attaining heaven.
The same is true with the Fifth Commandment—“Thou shalt not kill.” Whoopi’s assertion that “we allow wars all the time” neither holds water nor makes logical sense. Nor is it relevant to abortion.
Yes, wars happen, and they are a tragic and devastating part of life. But during war, the taking of a life is justifiable if it is in self-defense.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.
All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, ‘as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.’
Taking a life during a war is not the same as killing an innocent baby during an abortion. Yet it’s obvious that many in our society are waging war on these innocent babies, and people like Whoopi Goldberg are triumphantly leading battle after battle.
Whoopi’s years of inflammatory speech illustrate how powerful she feels when she can incite people. I have to wonder if she even knows the horrifying reality of abortion. Has she ever seen images of an aborted baby or The Silent Scream—a film of an actual abortion where a baby attempts to escape? Does she know that babies are literally torn apart in surgical abortions?
Maybe she knows and just doesn’t care. Or maybe she simply prides herself on being one of the loudest supporters of abortion so that others fear speaking up or talking over her. Those are the tactics of a bully.
This, however, is the sad reality we see everywhere today. People blindly follow what she and other celebrities say. They don’t think for themselves, they’re too afraid to stand up for what is right, and they allow themselves to be swayed by vitriol and ignore the facts.
Yet we know that Whoopi is far from the only person in Hollywood who says inane things or who tries to incite anger. Taylor Swift said this about the Dobbs decision: “I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are—that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.” Terrified, Taylor? It’s the baby with a target on his back who should be terrified.
Amy Schumer makes jokes about abortion, acting as if the killing of a baby is nothing more than filling a cavity.
And Olivia Rodrigo paused during a concert to spit obscenities and induce fear after the Dobbs decision, saying in part, “I’m devastated and terrified [by the Dobbs decision] and so many women and girls are going to die because of this.”
Their drama-inducing language is meant to not only scare women with lies but to take the focus off the dead baby and put it on them. They want to rack up the X and Instagram followers.
But what happens when we allow the words of these celebrities to mold and shape our views? We give up a valuable piece of ourselves. We lose our own voice. And we lose the ability to think.
As a society, we need to wake up and make better choices. Then we need to educate our children so they make decisions based on morality not on the views of Whoopi, or Taylor, or anyone else in Hollywood.
Let us draw our strength from God and our faith, not from celebrities who have no regard for human life.
When we do this, we can counter arguments like Whoopi’s with logic, with truth, and with love. The only way we will save babies is by courageously telling the facts about the sanctity of life and by teaching the truth about the commandments.
And the truth is, “Thou shalt not kill” applies to abortion because abortion is murder.
Susan Ciancio is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has worked as a writer and editor for over 20 years; 14 of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently, she is the editor of American Life League’s Celebrate Life Magazine—the nation’s premier Catholic pro-life magazine. She is also the executive editor of ALL’s Culture of Life Studies Program—a pre-K-12 Catholic pro-life education organization.