Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand criticizes Fox News' coverage of abortion rights while on Fox News

(Image credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

published 3 June 2019

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) seized the opportunity to slam Fox News while appearing on Fox News Sunday night, criticizing the cable channel for the role it plays in perpetuating a "false narrative" about abortion.

The 2020 presidential candidate attended a town hall hosted by the network on Sunday night in Dubuque, Iowa, and fielded a question about late-term abortions. "A woman should be able to decide when she's having children, how many children she's having, and under what circumstances," Gillibrand said. There is a "false choice and a false narrative" surrounding abortion rights, she continued, and Fox News helps spread it.

Before President Trump's last State of the Union address, Fox News talked about infanticide for six-and-a-half hours, Gillibrand said. "Infanticide doesn't exist," she declared, before getting interrupted by moderator Chris Wallace. Fox News is "treating you fairly," he said, and even though she might be trying to score points with Democrats by calling the channel out, "I'm not sure it's frankly very polite when we've invited you to be here."

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Promising she would denounce the network cordially, Gillibrand went on, saying the "debate about whether or not women should have reproductive freedom has turned into a red herring debate. And what happens on Fox News is relevant, because they talked about infanticide for 6.5 hours ... mentioned it 35 times." The discussion about access to reproductive care in the U.S. has nothing to do with infanticide, as "it doesn't happen," Gillibrand said. "It's illegal. It's not a fact. I believe all of us have a responsibility to talk about the facts." Watch her remarks below. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.