Fox “news” program offers platform to a White House spokesperson to lie about later abortions

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

During the March 14 edition of Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley claimed that Democrats want babies to be “born and then killed outside the womb” as “the norm.” In reality, no one has proposed any such thing; abortions performed later in pregnancy are extremely rare and often medically necessary; and experts have stated that infants surviving abortion “is an extreme rarity,” and is instead a concept invented by anti-choice groups to fearmonger about abortion rights.

The Republican Party is transparently planning to make anti-choice rhetoric and misinformation a key component of their 2020 strategy, and Gidley’s comments are just another example of that. Meanwhile, Fox News is serving as a willing partner in the Republican Party’s quest to spread harmful abortion lies -- even on allegedly “straight news” programs such as America’s Newsroom.

From the March 14, 2019, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom

HOGAN GIDLEY (WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY): I sure wish the House would come together and vote on a resolution, or the bill put forth by Republicans, that would actually protect children who’ve been born from abortions after they've been removed from the mother's womb. I wish they would take time doing that to stand up for life at all phases as opposed to focusing on some phony witch hunt. I mean, this is ridiculous and it shows exactly what Democrats said they wouldn't do, they’re doing. They came in and so many of them said wanted to work with the president and get things done for infrastructure and health care. And instead they are moving on all these radical ideas. Focus on life and focus on moving this country forward in the future and that's how we succeed as a nation together.

…

GIDLEY: The president stands for the American people, he’s done that the entire time. And now Democrats writ large have to answer for their new set of policies, which is making America socialist, standing for people -- those who are born and then killed outside the womb, they want that to be the norm.

HOGAN GIDLEY (WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY): I sure wish the House would come together and vote on a resolution, or the bill put forth by Republicans that would actually protect children who’ve been born from abortions after they've been removed from the mother's womb. I wish they would take time doing that to stand up for life at all phases as opposed to focusing on some phony witch hunt. I mean this is ridiculous and it shows exactly what Democrats said they wouldn't do, they’re doing. They came in and so many of them said wanted to work with the president and get things done for infrastructure and health care. And instead they are moving on all these radical ideas. Focus on life and focus on moving this country forward in the future and that's how we succeed as a nation together.

…

GIDLEY: The president stands for the American people, he’s done that the entire time. And now Democrats writ large have to answer for their new set of policies, which is making America socialist, standing for people -- those who are born and then killed outside the womb, they want that to be the norm.