Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision Friday not to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood’s breast-cancer screenings has generated disappointment from some abortion foes and praise and relief from abortion rights activists. Those reactions follow a three-day “scorched-earth” furor unleashed by Planned Parenthood supporters and others after an Associated Press report revealed Komen’s intentions.
Last year Komen granted $680,000 to Planned Parenthood for the nearly 750,000 screenings it provides each year, but between Tuesday’s announcement and Friday’s reversal, more than $3 million in donations were sent by individuals and companies to Planned Parenthood. Komen, it appears, inadvertently did Planned Parenthood a favor, not only by putting the agency again in the national spotlight but by helping it raise more than four times as much as it receives from Komen in one year.
Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from future grants for breast-cancer screenings because of a federal probe into the pro-abortion agency’s use of funds, according to the report by The Associated Press. The probe was initiated by a Florida congressman opposed to abortion. In its reversal, Komen said Friday it would ensure “that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.”
As one Planned Parenthood foe said, Komen officials should have been prepared for such a strong reaction and we concur, particularly considering the polarizing role Planned Parenthood plays in certain women’s health issues, such as abortion rights and contraception. Besides angry abortion rights supporters and other political forces, opposition to the decision came from Komen supporters and affiliates.
While our own editorial board is split on opinions of abortion rights, we believe Komen’s decision to reverse itself was the right thing to do, given that hundreds of thousands of poor women seeking breast-cancer screenings would be the ones truly affected. Komen has a passion and commitment to eradicate the threat of breast cancer. Its grants to Planned Parenthood should be specifically used for the purpose in which they were given — in this case to help prevent this disease that steals time and lives from hundreds of thousands of women of all ages. Given Planned Parenthood’s practice of referring women elsewhere for mammograms, Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker spoke Thursday of shifting more grant money to organizations that provide mammograms themselves. That makes sense to us. Komen officials said Friday they hope to get the charity back on track through an immediate outreach to affiliates and supporters. “We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue,” Komen’s statement said. “We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics — anyone’s politics.”
We couldn’t agree more.
THE ISSUE:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure reverses its decision to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding.
WE SAY:
Komen made the right decision to help poor women needing breast-cancer screenings.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
Last year Komen granted $680,000 to Planned Parenthood for the nearly 750,000 screenings it provides each year, but between Tuesday’s announcement and Friday’s reversal, more than $3 million in donations were sent by individuals and companies to Planned Parenthood. Komen, it appears, inadvertently did Planned Parenthood a favor, not only by putting the agency again in the national spotlight but by helping it raise more than four times as much as it receives from Komen in one year.
Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from future grants for breast-cancer screenings because of a federal probe into the pro-abortion agency’s use of funds, according to the report by The Associated Press. The probe was initiated by a Florida congressman opposed to abortion. In its reversal, Komen said Friday it would ensure “that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.”
As one Planned Parenthood foe said, Komen officials should have been prepared for such a strong reaction and we concur, particularly considering the polarizing role Planned Parenthood plays in certain women’s health issues, such as abortion rights and contraception. Besides angry abortion rights supporters and other political forces, opposition to the decision came from Komen supporters and affiliates.
While our own editorial board is split on opinions of abortion rights, we believe Komen’s decision to reverse itself was the right thing to do, given that hundreds of thousands of poor women seeking breast-cancer screenings would be the ones truly affected. Komen has a passion and commitment to eradicate the threat of breast cancer. Its grants to Planned Parenthood should be specifically used for the purpose in which they were given — in this case to help prevent this disease that steals time and lives from hundreds of thousands of women of all ages. Given Planned Parenthood’s practice of referring women elsewhere for mammograms, Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker spoke Thursday of shifting more grant money to organizations that provide mammograms themselves. That makes sense to us. Komen officials said Friday they hope to get the charity back on track through an immediate outreach to affiliates and supporters. “We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue,” Komen’s statement said. “We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics — anyone’s politics.”
We couldn’t agree more.
THE ISSUE:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure reverses its decision to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding.
WE SAY:
Komen made the right decision to help poor women needing breast-cancer screenings.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
