I have long been a supporter of the Susan B. Komen Foundation for their great work on combating breast cancer. In the past, like so many millions of Americans, I too donated to the "Race for a Cure." The mission is so important, but to allow their non-profit organization to become politicized and hijacked by those who appear to care little about women's total health (including their reproductive freedom) is a sorry outrage.
The issue is that, until now, the Komen Foundation, the most well-funded breast-cancer charity, was helping subsidize cancer screenings and education in Planned Parenthood clinics. Sadly, politics has infected the Komen Foundation's commitment to women's health. In a bald-faced political move, Komen's conservative leadership has withdrawn funding for breast screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. This will exacerbate the already difficult problem of providing coordinated health care to women in need. As a consequence, many (mostly desperately poor) women who would have been screened properly for breast cancer may no longer have the resources available at clinics they've historically gone to.
Planned Parenthood has done an amazing job caring for women. Meanwhile, so many conservative leaders (mostly rich white males, ever notice?) figure out new ways to deny women health care and coverage so demonstrably needed. The question the Komen Foundation leadership should have been asking is how to provide the highest level of integrated care to women in need.
Instead, an organized smear on Planned Parenthood is now being "investigated," instigated by a "pro-life" conservative Congressman. This highly-politicized investigation was used by the Komen Foundation as justification to end the breast screening programs at Planned Parenthood. Although the breast cancer screenings have nothing to do with abortion, foes of abortion have tried every means possible to attack Planned Parenthood. "Right-to-Lifers" are frustrated because they haven't changed the views of most Americans who increasingly support a woman's "Right to Choose" and because they have yet to have abortion banned by the courts.
This move by the Komen Foundation isn't about caring for women's health needs: it's just part of the same old divisive and polarizing politics of abortion in a major election year... a ploy conservatives trot out every four years to energize their base. So while women will now get less care... uncoordinated care (at best)... conservatives get to score some points and raise the temperature of an argument that has nothing to do with abortion: just the mean old political calculus with women's health being the casualty on this battlefield.
So, how about some facts (quoting from a terrific piece by Lori Stahl in today's Washington Post):
The Dallas-based organization, which is the country's biggest breast cancer charity, insisted its controversial decision to defund Planned Parenthood affiliates was made only in light of Komen's new policy against supporting agencies that are under investigation. (The congressional investigation itself was launched by a conservative Republican and spurred by antiabortion groups.)The decision was "not about politics," a Komen statement insisted.
But the truth is that Komen founder Nancy Brinker has strong Republican ties and Cecile Richards, who leads Planned Parenthood, is daughter of late Texas Gov. Ann Richards and has longtime Democratic Party ties. Also worth noting: This is an election year.Brinker, a longtime GOP donor who was ambassador to Hungary under then-President George W. Bush, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009. She has cast Komen as above politics, saying its focus is women's health.
But the decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood comes shortly after Komen unveiled a new partnership that strengthens its ties to the George W. Bush Institute. The institute is the policy-making arm of Bush's presidential library, which is scheduled to open in Dallas next year."
Over the past five years, Komen funding has provided nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams out of more than 4 million nationwide at Planned Parenthood health centers. Komen has also provided more than 6,400 out of 70,000 mammogram referrals. Those non-abortion-related services are often the collateral damage when Planned Parenthood takes a hit.
When Susan Komen discovered she had breast cancer, she said, "as soon as I get better, let's do something about this... I want to fix up this waiting room and make it pretty for the women who have to be here. This isn't right." Susan Komen made it clear she cared about how women would be treated in clinics... and I suspect that if she hadn't died from this horrible disease, she would have fought to continue efforts to provide breast cancer screenings (at Planned Parenthood and in other medical facilities) in a way women would be treated with respect.
So, while the Komen Foundation withdraws funding that helped 170,000 women get breast exams, don't kid yourselves: This isn't about caring for women's health... or providing better care... or about following the stated mission of the Komen Foundation; it is about politics... conservative politics, to be clear.... and dirty politics putting women's lives at risk. The Komen Foundation puts women's health at risk by de-funding these critical programs. Instead of "Racing For a Cure" and helping women in need get adequate health care, women are being treated as political pawns in the business-as-usual election mud fight. Shame!
Follow Dan Dubno on Twitter: www.twitter.com/blowingthingsup
Cecile Richards: On Planned Parenthood and Komen: What You Can Do
Linda Bergthold: Am I a Woman or Am I a Puppet?
How many disadvantaged women are going to die as a result of this political decision by Komen?
Again, you wrote a great blog today, Dan. Hope to read you again soon.
Best Regards,
Barry Wolk
I predict that there will NEVER be a 100% Komen recovery from this ill-fated edict of theirs.
We MUST find an alternative to them for us to donate to.
Go to http://ww5.komen.org/CorporatePartners.aspx for a list of all Komen corporate sponsors.
Then write a few emails....
But the decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood comes shortly after Komen unveiled a new partnership that strengthens its ties to the George W. Bush Institute. The institute is the policy-making arm of Bush’s presidential library, which is scheduled to open in Dallas next year.
Founders say the new effort, called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign, is an “innovative partnership” aimed at improving breast and cervical screenings for women in developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Other partners include the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.
The founding corporate sponsor is Merck, which is making a financial contribution of $3 million over three years and in-kind contributions to a cervical cancer vaccination program in Tanzania.
Merck, which manufactures the Gardasil vaccine, is a longtime campaign donor to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose ties to the company were briefly an issue during his failed presidential bid. Rival Michele Bachman accused Perry of pushing the Gardasil vaccine on young girls in Texas at Merck’s behest in 2007."
They are incapable of charity without vested motives and incapable of contributing to humanity without pushing a political agenda.
Turn off fox and hateradio. Conservative media is poisoning this country.
PP donations from the public surged, yesterday, and will most likely continue to do so. At that rate, the public can fund it themselves, and the Feds can rethink the $300,000,000 it gives to PP with my taxpayer dollars. Plus, PP reported for the 2009-2010 year that total revenues were over 1 billion dollars!! So PP will be just fine, and will continue to provide screenings and care for women. The Komen monies were but a dent in PP's funding.
I would venture to say that Komen's donations will be on the rise too, from those who did not support their funding of PP.
It seems that they only care about the womb...and once the child is born they don't care if the child lives or dies! They don't care if the woman lives or dies...just so long as she has more children for their work forces and slave wages!
This is a political move...to further advance the republican agenda. People who call themselves "christians" and who tolerate this kind of treatment of those less fortunate are not following the words of Jesus Christ! What will they say to Him, on the Day of Judgment, when he asks them why did you do this to my sisters...to my children? I gave you the means to help them and you let them die?
I, too, hate the thought of abortions....but, I don't walk in anyone's shoes but my own! I just know that the Koman Foundation will lose a lot of the money they get from donations and that may hurt the repubs who seem to love the money more than they do the women they are supposed to help!
"How many women have they executed?"