Uproar follows Komen-Planned Parenthood rift

Feb 3 2012

Anti-abortion activists applaud the move, but many other women's health advocates are angered the well-known breast cancer advocacy group has opted against helping another prominent women's health organization.

The New York Times: Uproar As Breast Cancer Group Ends Partnership With Planned Parenthood
When the nation's largest breast cancer advocacy organization considered in October cutting off most of its financial support to the nation's largest abortion provider, the breast cancer group was hoping for a quiet end to an increasingly controversial partnership. Instead, the organization, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, is now engulfed in a controversy that threatens to undermine one of the most successful advocacy campaigns (Harris and Belluck, 2/1).

Los Angeles Times: Planned Parenthood Supporters Denounce Komen's Funding Halt
Komen's decision, made quietly late last year and made public Tuesday, has ignited fury in some and jubilation in others, depending upon their stance on abortion. Public message boards, Twitter and Facebook are flooding with posts supporting or decrying the move (Khan, 2/1).

NPR: Planned Parenthood Vs. Komen: Women's Health Giants Face Off Over Abortion
Two of the nation's most iconic women's health groups are engaged in a nasty fight that's raising a lot of eyebrows. The breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen For the Cure is pulling about $700,000 in breast cancer screening and service grants from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (Rovner, 2/1). NPR also has a Q & A on this development.

Politico: Did Susan G. Komen Turn Itself Into A Lightning Rod?
Susan G. Komen for the Cure says there wasn't anything political about its decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood. But in Washington, every decision is political -; and now the cancer-fighting organization may have turned itself from a "safe" charity into just another political lightning rod. It may have ruined its fundraising, too, as its Facebook page filled up with messages from Planned Parenthood supporters promising they'll never give a dime to the charity again (Nocera, 2/1).

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Raises $400,000 In 24 Hours
Supporters of Planned Parenthood have flooded the organization with enough donations to recoup almost all of the money that would have come from the Susan G. Komen foundation. Planned Parenthood said it has raised $400,000 in online donations in the 24 hours since news broke that Komen would no longer fund cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. More than 6,000 people have donated, Planned Parenthood said (Baker, 2/1).

San Francisco Chronicle: Fury Over Komen Decision To Withhold Cancer Funds
Lisa Augustine raised more than $3,000 and walked 60 miles for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure fundraiser shortly after undergoing surgery and radiation for breast cancer in 2010. But the 39-year-old Napa woman will no longer contribute after the decision by the nation's leading breast cancer charity to withdraw support from Planned Parenthood for breast exams for low-income women. Planned Parenthood and other groups accuse the Komen foundation of bowing to political pressure from antiabortion groups, a contention Komen denies. Either way, Augustine said she will now direct her donations to Planned Parenthood and other cancer organizations -- and end all ties to Komen (Colliver, 2/2).

National Journal: Could New Komen VP Be Behind Planned Parenthood Decision?
So who was behind Susan G. Komen for the Cure's controversial decision to yank funding from Planned Parenthood? The decision shocked many women's health advocates, who had incorrectly assumed that interest in women's health issues, would automatically translate into support for abortion rights. The unusual venture into a politically charged area by Komen, known best for its pink-themed T-shirts and races to raise money, has stirred up some very unfriendly debate. Suspicion has fallen on the group's newish senior vice president, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. Handel was appointed to Komen last April, and she was quick to point out her strong Republican credentials (Fox, 2/1).

Texas Tribune: Texas Planned Parenthood Clinics Bracing For Komen Cuts
Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region reports that its six-year partnership with Dallas-based Komen has performed 720 clinical breast exams and risk assessments for poor women under the age of 40. Over the last three years, the North Texas Planned Parenthood chapter in Dallas has used Komen dollars to provide about 580 mammograms to poor women. And in Waco, Planned Parenthood of Central Texas has relied heavily on Komen funds to screen, diagnose and treat women across 10 counties. In 2010, the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program, in conjunction with Komen funding, provided 609 Central Texas women with mammograms, 292 with diagnostic services and 329 with cervical cancer screenings. Twenty-four Medicaid-eligible women with breast or cervical cancer received treatment (Tan, 2/1).

The Associated Press: Reactions Heated On Planned Parenthood-Komen Rift
Planned Parenthood said Wednesday that it received more than $400,000 from 6,000 donors in the 24 hours after news broke that its affiliates would be losing grants for breast screenings from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer foundation. Komen, meanwhile, incurred heated criticism from some members of Congress, numerous liberal advocacy groups and some newspaper editorial writers. But it was applauded by many conservative religious and anti-abortion groups that abhor Planned Parenthood for its role as the leading U.S. abortion provider (Crary, 2/1).

CNN: Opinions Fly After Komen Drops Planned Parenthood
The move by the breast cancer research group came after Congress in September began investigating whether Planned Parenthood, a prominent family planning organization, illegally used federal funds to provide abortions. The Komen foundation has indicated that because it adopted a new policy preventing it from giving money to groups that the government is investigating, it can't continue funding breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood. ... Some Planned Parenthood supporters have alleged the move is less about investigation and more about abortion. Anti-abortion advocates around the country had questioned the Komen foundation about its grants for months, prompting the foundation to release a statement last year saying that "Komen funding is used exclusively to provide breast cancer programs" (2/1).

CBS: Komen For Cure, Planned Parenthood Sparks Fly
This morning, a leading force in the fight against breast cancer is under attack for cutting its ties to Planned Parenthood. Susan G. Komen for the Cure calls it a strategic decision, but critics call it political. ... There are so many women who support both of these organizations, the move caused a mini-uproar on the Web and caused a lot of speculation about what was really behind the split (Cordes, 2/1).