“What about men?” has become a popular joke reflecting the knee-jerk reaction to conversations about feminism and women’s rights. If you ask Chris Wallace, the Fox News host who questioned (and repeatedly interrupted and condescended to) 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand during her town hall on the network last night, however, it’s a truly pertinent question, one that he felt entitled to ask.
Gillibrand snapped right back, but the verbal sparring was more than just a jab. She had a lot to say about policy, and particularly policies concerning reproductive health and rights.
Let’s go over the details, starting with the now-viral exchange, then dig into the abortion conversation. At the live appearance on Fox on Sunday evening, Wallace asked the New York senator about a tweet she shared in December 2018:
Gillibrand also noted that gender equality is "not meant to be exclusionary; it's meant to be inclusionary,” because if there’s one thing women know we’re expected to do, it’s to reassure men that they’re still important.
"All right, we're not threatened,” Wallace said, probably speaking to the numerous men kept up at night at the thought of the patriarchy crumbling around them.
That aside, there was some really important policy talk. Gillibrand told a retired neonatal nurse that reproductive health decisions should always be up to pregnant people, including when they need to make “life-and-death” decisions about pregnancy and birth. This was in response to the nurse’s question about Gillibrand’s stance on late-term abortions, which we all know is a hyped-up talking point on Fox News.
And wouldn’t you know it, Gillibrand called Fox out for that very hyping. In fact, she called a spade a spade, and described the claim that abortion is infanticide as a “false narrative.” She went on to say that "infanticide, it doesn't exist," and that “it's illegal. It's not a fact. And I believe all of us have a responsibility to talk about the facts.” And yes, she did this live on the network itself.
Shocking no one, but disappointing everyone, Wallace interrupted Gillibrand to (basically) call her rude.
“Senator, senator, I just want to say, we brought you here, gave you an hour, we’re treating you fairly,” he said. “I understand that maybe to make your credentials with the Democrats who are not appearing on Fox News, you’re going to attack us. I’m not sure, it’s frankly very polite when we’ve invited you to be here.”
Ah, yes. What every woman wants to hear: that we should be lucky just to be there.
“The debate over whether or not women should have reproductive freedom has turned into a red herring debate,” Gillibrand continued. “And what happens on Fox News is relevant because they talked about infanticide—for six and a half hours before President Trump’s State of the Union… That’s not what the debate of what access to care is about in this country.”
Gillibrand’s overarching point, in summation, is that abortion is “a human right, it’s about having bodily autonomy, it’s about being able to control your physical self.”
You can read more on her stance on reproductive health on her website.
