Health-Medical-Fitness-Diet-zh: Dropping Planned Parenthood Is Not Political, Says Susan G. Komen For The Cure

Breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, says that dropping Planned Parenthood from its granting process is not political, and says it is "dismayed and extremely disappointed" that its action has been mischaracterized. The charity says it has taken actions to make its granting process stronger and more effective, resulting in Planned Parenthood being dropped from its list of grantees.

In a written communiqué today, Komen says it embarked on a new initiative in 2010 to assess the impact of its community grants. The charity stressed that it invests considerable sums in local community programs - a total of $93 million last year, providing over 700,000 diagnostic procedures and mammographies (breast health screenings).

Komen wrote today in its communiqué:

"Following this review, we made the decision to implement stronger performance criteria for our grantees to minimize duplication and free up dollars for direct services to help vulnerable women. To support this new granting strategy, Komen has also implemented more stringent eligibility standards to safeguard donor dollars. Consequently, some organizations are no longer eligible to receive Komen grants."

The charity admits that its standards may be viewed as "too exacting" by some. It stresses that over the past thirty years, donors have "given us more than just their money. They have given us their trust and we take that responsibility very seriously."

Komen says that with regret some longstanding grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, have been affected.

In a written statement today, Komen informed that:

". . . . but (we) want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are
not about politics. Throughout our 30 year history, our priority has always been and will continue to be the women we serve. As we move forward, we are working to ensure that there is no interruption or gaps in services for the women who need our support most in the fight against breast cancer."

The Southern Baptist Convention's publishing arm recalled some pink Bibles which had gone to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, because part of the money from their sales went to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is a family planning organization, which provides abortions as part of its service - a procedure the Southern Baptist Convention is against.

At the time, commentators said this move would affect free breast screenings, but would have no impact on abortions figures. Click here to read about this in more detail.

Planned Parenthood says Komen has succumbed to pressure from "anti-women's healthpolitical organizations" and ended future funding for its breast cancer screenings, as well as breast health education.

The family planning organization says the move will affect women from lower income households, as well as females located in rural and under-served communities.

In a communiqué, Planned Parenthood wrote:

"We believe that women of all economic levels need access to breast health screenings, referrals, and education. We're determined to make sure that Komen's decision doesn't jeopardize these women's access to health care. Please make a contribution today to help us defend access to care and continue to protect and promote women's health."

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our breast cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Christian Nordqvist. "Dropping Planned Parenthood Is Not Political, Says Susan G. Komen For The Cure." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 2 Feb. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Yolanda Brooks on 2 Feb 2012 at 11:43 am

I was such a great supporter of the Susan G. Komen and now this issue arises that now has me thinking about their political motivations. Planned Parenthood provides much needed services and I thought the Susan G. Komen organization was a supporter of Women's health. It is too conveient that the leadership of Komen has resorted to these tactics. My money will stop for Komen and placed with organizations that are politically neutral. They say investigation but never say investigation by who. This implies an organization is guilty before any due process is completed not withstanding the investigation may be purly political in its nature and allegations. Stop the manipulation - Shame on You!