Why I Will Never Be Donating to Komen Foundation Again

6 Notes

Komen Foundation Now Says It Will Continue Grants to Planned Parenthood (NPR):

The Susan G. Komen Foundation just announced it will be providing grants to Planned Parenthood for that organization to use in basic screening and educating women about breast cancer.

In the statement from CEO Nancy Brinker, Komen also says “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.”

Controversy erupted Tuesday when there was word that the foundation would no longer be giving Planned Parenthood the grants, which recently totaled more than $600,000 a year. Critics accused Koman of caving to pressure from groups that oppose abortion. Komen at first said it was acting because a member of congress is investigating whether Planned Parenthood has used public money to provide abortions, then said it was acting to make more efficient use of its money.

The Shots blog has been following this story, and has more.

I will never donate a dime to Komen Foundation again.

I am someone who went several years without health insurance (during and after undergrad), so I have received birth control, my first of many subsequent breast exams, sex education, instruction on self-exams, yearly pelvics, the morning after pill, and most importantly, one very crucial referral (since they don’t perform them in my area) to a safe place to have my 2002 abortion… all from my local Planned Parenthood.

This is exactly the type of fiasco right-wing ass clowns hoped to generate by going on a witch hunt to find mis-use of Planned Parenthood funding. Cast yet-unfounded doubt on an organization that has done more for women’s health than any other organization (in my opinion) and put politic pressure where there should be NONE.

Someone made the joke to me recently that we should thank Komen for the money that was raised during this period of outrage and backlash, but I’m not in the habit of thanking a women’s health organization for putting anything other than women’s health FIRST.

I don’t care that Komen Foundation has caved to a new kind of politic pressure (the backlash of the outraged left wing, myself included). My eyes are open and the money I’ve given to Komen will be redirected to other charities.

Anyone who’d like to pat me on the head any further and chalk my response up to my silly liberal ways can henceforth go fuck themselves. I owe a good deal of where I am as a healthy woman to Planned Parenthood.