Fox host Shannon Bream and correspondent Molly Henneberg continued Fox's relentless campaign to demonize Planned Parenthood and stoke fears about their participation in an initiative to expand health insurance. Bream and Henneberg dishonestly linked abortion with federal funds going to Planned Parenthood to cover federal funds helping enroll Americans in health insurance.

On the August 22 edition of America Live, Bream proclaimed there was “outrage over a new plan to give federal money to Planned Parenthood,” and concluded that “critics are upset that the government wants to give funds to clinics that also provide abortions.” Henneberg brought up the irrelevant red herring that Planned Parenthood is “the largest abortion provider in the country” :

Despite Henneberg's dishonest attempt to tie the funding to abortion, the purpose of the navigators is to provide "'fair, impartial and accurate information that assists consumers with submitting the eligibility application, clarifying distinctions among [qualified health plans] and helping qualified individuals make informed decisions during the health plan selection process.'"

Henneberg then attempted to portray the funds as a broken promise by the president by claiming Obama said “no federal dollars that fund Obamacare would go to abortion providers.” As The Daily Beast's Amanda Marcotte notes, this is a blatant falsehood:

Well, if you're watching Fox, you'd think it's apocalyptic. Right-wing radio host Mike Gallagher acted like there was nothing more outrageous than a public health clinic getting involved in a program that helps people get better access to health care. “I always try to anticipate what my friends on the left will possibly say to try to defend this egregious about-face,” he chuckled on Fox. The “about-face” is a reference to the overt lie underpinning this entire campaign against Planned Parenthood, which is the conservative claim that Obama somehow promised that Planned Parenthood as an entity would not get any federal funding under the Affordable Care Act. Obama made no such promise. He signed an executive order disallowing abortion to be covered in health-care plans sold on the exchange, but signing people up for health care should not be equated with giving them abortions or even giving them plans that cover abortion. That's like saying the Department of Motor Vehicles is casting your ballot for you by giving you the opportunity to register to vote--an outright and inflammatory lie.

Fox even read a statement by Planned Parenthood Vice President Eric Ferrero, who assured that the grants “have nothing to do with abortion and won't be used for abortion services,” which would fulfill Obama's promise.

Planned Parenthood is one of 105 groups to receive federal funds under the Affordable Care Act to aid in enrolling Americans in health insurance. According to The Hill, “organizations on the other side of the ideological spectrum also received grants,” including Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic and non-profit health system, and Catholic Social Services, an arm of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama.