“I apologized to everyone. I think we all made mistakes and we addressed them and we’re through that and we’re moving on.”
~CEO and Founder Susan Brinker
The fallout from Susan G. Komen comes after a highly publicized and politicized decision to remove funding from Planned Parenthood. Conservatives have been on a mission to limit access to abortion providers and even though only 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortion related … Komen made their decision based on the politics and conservative worldview of their founder. In short they made it political. And even though 5 executives left (source) …. this infusion of politics into what had been a first rate non-profit, non-partisan organization has left participation and funding for Susan G. Komen down significantly (source).
CBS News reports HERE:
The moves represent another shift in a series of executive leadership changes at Komen this year after the organization was criticized for a policy that prevented its 119 affiliates from providing grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer education and mammograms. Komen eventually reversed the policy.
Two Komen board members, Brenda Lauderback and Linda Law, also are leaving, officials said Wednesday.
One effect of the controversy was that Komen’s signature walks and races hosted by affiliates across the country saw lower turnout and fewer dollars raised.
Ms. Brinker said it has been a “hard time” for the group’s fundraising but it is too soon to predict if races this fall will be a success.
Coincidentally – the Obama campaign just came out with a video featuring actress Elizabeth Banks knocking Mitt Romney’s extreme position on Planned Parenthood and women’s issues. See below:
“Planned Parenthood was my health care provider when I didn’t have insurance after I graduated from college. Yes, I got birth control, but it was for my massive migraine headaches and my heavy flow. Yeah, I’m on the record saying I have a heavy flow.”
~Elizabeth Banks
Mitt Romney has been on record multiple times of saying he’s going to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood. But – what is it that he is really pushing to get rid of?
As we wrote HERE:
Ezra Klein from the Washington Post brings us this chart to explain what Planned Parenthood ACTUALLY DOES HERE:
Abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions. It’s also worth noting that federal law already forbids Planned Parenthood from using the funds it receives from the government for abortions.
That’s what the war on women spearheaded by Mitt Romney is going to get rid of. Women’s health shouldn’t be an ideological issue; women need access to these services – sometimes for life and death matters. It makes all the difference. But I guess it’s more important to earn your conservative credentials by closing down women’s health centers … even if it means a few thousand or tens of thousands of women die or get sick without access to care.
