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When officials from the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure confirmed that they would no longer fund breast-cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, cutting off hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, the backlash was immediate.
The Komen website was briefly hacked and an ad for their Marathon for the Cure was changed from "Help us get 26.2 or 13.1 miles closer to a world without breast cancer" to "Help us run over poor women on our way to the bank." The discussion raged on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Pro-choice groups and individuals posted information about other ways to support women's health and breast cancer research. And donations to Planned Parenthood -- including ones through Yahoo! For Good -- skyrocketed.
By Wednesday afternoon, Planned Parenthood had received more than $400,000 in donations from 6,000 people, plus an additional $250,000 gift to their newly launched Breast Health Emergency Fund from Dallas philanthropist Lee Fikes and his wife, Amy, The Washington Post reported. The women's health organization usually receives 100 to 200 donations per day.
"People respond powerfully when they see politics interfering with women's health," Planned Parenthood spokesman Tait Sye told the Washington Post. "That's why we've seen a tremendous outpouring of support."
On Thursday afternoon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that he would personally match, dollar for dollar, the next $250,000 raised by Planned Parenthood, the New York Times reported.
"Politics have no place in health care,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way."
Komen maintains that its decision was not politically motivated -- a spokesperson says that the move was a result of the breast-cancer charity's new rule barring grants to organizations that are under investigation by the local, state, or federal government. But, as Fox News reports, out of the 200,000 or so groups to which Komen awards grants, only Planned Parenthood has been affected by the new rule. And others note that, given Komen's 2011 statement lauding Planned Parenthood for its service to poor, uninsured, and underinsured women, politics may be the only reason to cut funding now.
"While Komen Affiliates provide funds to pay for screening, education and treatment programs in dozens of communities, in some areas, the only place that poor, uninsured or under-insured women can receive these services are through programs run by Planned Parenthood," the March 2011 statement read. "These facilities serve rural women, poor women, Native American women, women of color, and the un- and under-insured. As part of our financial arrangements, we monitor our grantees twice a year to be sure they are spending the money in line with our agreements, and we are assured that Planned Parenthood uses these funds only for breast health education, screening and treatment programs."
The Huffington Post reports that the decision came just months after Komen hired Karen Handel to be their senior vice president for policy in April 2011. Handel ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 on a pro-life platform and promised to eliminate state grants to Planned Parenthood, even as she acknowledged that the state money did not fund abortions or abortion-related services.
"First, let me be clear, since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood," Handel wrote on her campaign blog, which is still available in Internet archives.
"During my time as Chairman of Fulton County, there were federal and state pass-through grants that were awarded to Planned Parenthood for breast and cervical cancer screening, as well as a 'Healthy Babies Initiative'," she continued in her July 15, 2010 blog post. "None of the services in any way involved abortions or abortion-related services. In fact, state and federal law prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for abortions or abortion related services and I strongly support those laws. Since grants like these are from the state I'll eliminate them as your next Governor."
Politics come into play in other ways as well. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Komen CEO and founder Nancy G. Brinker and her late husband, Brinker International Restaurants chairman Norman Brinker, together have given more than $615,000 to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee since 1990. And Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance board of directors member Jane Abraham is also the general chairman of Susan B. Anthony List -- an organization that has long supported defunding Planned Parenthood.
The Daily Caller reported that, according to Komen CEO Nancy G. Brinker, donations to the Komen Foundation "are up 100 percent in the past two days." In a video statement, she explained and defended her organization's decision:
YouTube Uploaded by KomenfortheCure on Feb 1, 2012
Americans United for Life President Charmaine Yoest, whose organization's report led to the investigation of Planned Parenthood by Republican Representative Cliff Stearns, told the Washington Post's Sarah Kliff that the defunding of Planned Parenthood "was some of the best news of my entire life."
"We're so used to seeing Planned Parenthood succeed at defining themselves as the trendy place to be, and for Komen to make such a smart decision in recognizing the reality behind Planned Parenthood spin," she added. "As a breast cancer survivor, I was always troubled with this whole idea that the nation's largest abortion provider was enmeshed in the breast cancer fight when they weren't actually doing mammograms. I look at this as smart stewardship."
By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine
Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/planned-parenthood-decision-puts-spotlight-susan-g-komen-200300991.html
### UPDATE
Susan G. Komen drops plan to cut Planned Parenthood grants | AP Jan 3, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — After three days of controversy, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity says it is reversing its decision to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.
"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," a Komen statement said.
As first reported by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from grants because it was under government investigation, notably a probe launched in Congress at the urging of anti-abortion groups.
Komen said Friday it would change the criteria so it wouldn't apply to such investigations.
"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants," the statement said.
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