Liberal comedian Bill Maher stoked the abortion battle by declaring the procedure is pretty much murder, but that he’s “OK with that.”
The TV host took a jab at former President Donald Trump for his stance in favor of leaving abortion policy to the states, saying, “You mean killing babies is OK in some states?”
“I can respect the absolutist position. I really can,” he said on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” “I scold the left when they say, ‘Oh, you know what? They just hate women, people who aren’t pro-choice.’”
Mr. Maher said that pro-lifers “don’t hate women” and that the opposition “just made that up.”
Anti-abortion people “think it’s murder, and it kind of is,” he said on the Friday show. “I’m just OK with that. I am. I mean, there’s 8 billion people in the world. I’m sorry, we won’t miss you. That’s my position on it.”
Pro-life advocates were horrified by the callousness of his statement — and gratified to hear a major pro-choice media figure declare that abortion is more than the discarding of an insignificant clump of cells.
“Bill Maher says the quiet part out loud,” said March for Life on X.
Christopher Reid, a radio host in Huntsville, Alabama, wrote on X that Mr. Maher’s comment is “the only honest pro-choice argument I have ever heard in my entire life!”
He added, “It’s remarkable that he is admitting what everyone who supports abortion realizes deep down, but so few will ever say it.”
Bill Maher says the quiet part out loud.
— March for Life (@March_for_Life) April 15, 2024
“I scold the left when they say [pro-lifers] hate women… they don’t hate women… they think [abortion] is murder, and it kind of is. I’m just okay with that. Isn’t that the pro-choice position?” pic.twitter.com/dTcbE9O2UQ
Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement, “Maher’s sincerity is appreciated, if not his promotion of violence. He knows, as every honest person who agrees with science knows, that abortion is the taking of innocent human life.”
John-Henry Westen, editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews, said in a video post, “The clip is fascinating because Bill Maher is honest and tells us what [those in] the pro-abortion movement really think and feel.
“Bill Maher’s truthful statements can actually help provide us with a framework for fighting back. First of all, we must always tell the truth, that the abortion is murder and never be tempted to soften our language.”
In addition, he said, “we must oppose all abortions and never exclude any group from our love and protection, whether based on age or the circumstances of their conception,” referring to exceptions for rape and incest.
“Thirdly, we must never change our behavior or speech based on abortion-lobby lies. They know that we don’t hate women. And we must treat their lies with contempt,” Mr. Westen said. “Fourth, we must never stop exposing the globalist plot to depopulate the world by means of abortion and euthanasia. They want to kill us.”
Mr. Maher’s comment was met initially with silence, and then guest Piers Morgan responded, “That’s kind of harsh, Bill.”
Mr. Maher shot back: “Is that not your position if you’re pro-choice?”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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