Komen’s reversal on Planned Parenthood irks some

[pickel]

Komen’s reversal on Planned Parenthood irks some | The Columbus Dispatch

“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,” Komen CEO and founder Nancy G. Brinker said in a statement.

Komen’s reversal was great news to Elizabeth Arnett of the East Side, whose adult daughter is a breast-cancer survivor.

She said she was going to stop donating to Komen but has now changed her mind.

And Arnett is adding another beneficiary to her charity dollars: Planned Parenthood. “They help so many people who wouldn’t get help,” she said. “They’re on the side of angels in what they’re doing.”


Whatever the reason to STOP this funding ,IMO, has got to be one of the cruelest actions I've ever seen against the female gender. Innocent women and girls subjected to the mental fear of losing an important part of their healthcare because of a politics is the new low in our society.,

[bigBonehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickel

"...Whatever the reason to STOP this funding , IMO, it has got to be one of the cruelest actions I've ever seen against the female gender. Innocent women and girls subjected to the mental fear of losing an important part of their healthcare because of a politics is the new low in our society..."

Us Against Them at it's worst

[Theophylact]

Quote:

A high-ranking official resigned Tuesday from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity after a dispute over whether the group should give funding to Planned Parenthood, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Karen Handel, the charity's vice president for public policy, told Komen officials that she supported the move to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. She said the discussion started before she arrived at the organization and was approved at the highest levels of the charity.

"I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it," Handel said in her letter. "I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen's future and the women we serve."

Handel said in the letter that the now-abandoned policy was fully vetted by the Komen organization. Its board did not raise any objections when it was presented with the proposed policy in November, Handel said.

Officials with the Komen foundation and Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Handel had supported a decision that Komen announced last week to exclude Planned Parenthood, which provides a range of women's health care services including abortions, from future grants for breast-cancer screenings because it was under government investigation. The charity cited a probe launched by a Florida congressman at the urging of anti-abortion groups.

The breast cancer charity reversed course after its decision created a three-day firestorm of criticism. Members of Congress and Komen affiliates accused the group's national leadership of bending to pressure from anti-abortion activists. Komen's founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker, denied the decision was driven by pressure from anti-abortion groups.

Until Tuesday, Handel had publicly kept silent about her role in the dispute.

In her letter, she said the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood was long a concern to Komen officials.

"Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone's political beliefs or ideology," Handel said in the letter. Rather, both were based on Komen's mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy.

A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen's headquarters in Dallas said the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria's impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.

Brinker, in an interview with MSNBC last week, said Handel didn't have a significant role in the policy change.

Handel, a Republican, ran for Georgia governor in 2010, winning an endorsement from former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Handel then lost a primary runoff to former Georgia Congressman Nathan Deal, who won the general election.

Throughout the campaign, Deal accused Handel of being soft on abortion.

And she lost the primary because she wasn't loony enough.