The View hosts debated conservative commentator S.E. Cupp’s claim that Sen. Bernie Sanders supports eugenics after the Vermont independent said during a CNN climate town hall that the United States should fund abortions in poor countries to control the world population.
“Let’s just state for the record: talking about needing ‘population control’ through ABORTION for the sake of CLIMATE is talking about EUGENICS. The fact that @BernieSanders is willing to entertain this vile idea is not only disgusting, it should be disqualifying,” Cupp said Thursday on Twitter.
Let’s just state for the record: talking about needing “population control” through ABORTION for the sake of CLIMATE is talking about EUGENICS. The fact that @BernieSanders is willing to entertain this vile idea is not only disgusting, it should be disqualifying.
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) September 5, 2019
How do you not say unequivocally “NO” to the question of whether you support the idea of “curbing population growth” through abortion to reduce climate change??? Well, watch. This is apparently how. https://t.co/z5G7PCjJRe
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) September 5, 2019
The View host Meghan McCain said she agreed with Cupp’s claim, comparing Sanders policy proposal to China’s one-child policy.
“S.E. Cupp is one of my closest friends, and I agree with that,” McCain said Friday. “We were actually texting each other when this moment happened in the climate change debate. Because I do think, any time you’re talking about population control, if you are a pro-life person, it starts sounding alarms. Because again, in China, they enacted a one-child policy, and now men outnumber women by 7 million in China and India.”
“To your point, it’s scary what happens when you do that,” Abby Huntsman agreed with McCain, adding that her sister was left in the streets when she was 2 years old.
The rest of the hosts disagreed with the pair, with Sunny Hostin saying it was “distorting” what Sanders said in the town hall.
Sanders, 77, said Wednesday during a CNN climate town hall that he supported American aid to help fund abortions “especially in poor countries” to control world population.
“[T]he Mexico City agreement, which denies American aid to those organizations around the world that allow women to have abortions or even get involved in birth control, to me is totally absurd. So I think especially in poor countries around the world, where women do not necessarily want to have large numbers of babies and where they can have the opportunity through birth control to the number of kids they have: something I very, very strongly support,” he said.
Host Whoopi Goldberg said Sanders’ comments were “very different” from eugenics because eugenics focuses on specific traits that are desirable.
Joy Behar and McCain ended the segment arguing over whether overpopulation is a problem or not.
“The population of the world is on the decline,” McCain cut in as Behar tried to talk about population growth “using up the resources of the world.”
“Can I say a sentence here?” Behar said.
“Well, if it’s factual,” McCain snapped back.
