Komen Breast Cancer Charity Stops Funding Planned Parenthood Screenings
The world’s leading breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is terminating its funding for breast cancer screening and education programs run through Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), The New York Times reports.
Nineteen of the 83 Planned Parenthood affiliates throughout the United States will be affected by the Komen foundation pulling its nearly $700,000 in annual financing. All of the money was used for breast-health services for low-income, uninsured and under-insured women.
Leslie Aun, a spokeswoman for Komen, told The Associated Press that a newly adopted policy to suspend grants to organizations that are under investigation by authorities was the reason behind the decision. Currently, U.S. Representative Cliff Stearns (R–Fla.) is auditing Planned Parenthood to see if any public money—federal funding through Title X and Medicaid programs—has been spent on abortions.
PPFA is largely known for its work with women’s reproductive health, in particular, helping women safely and cost-effectively obtain contraceptives and abortions. The organization’s work supplying women with the latter services tends to draw criticism from right-wing groups and anti-choice advocates. It is speculated that these groups pressured the Komen foundation to terminate the longstanding partnership.
The Huffington Post points out that less than a year ago Komen hired Karen Handel as its vice president. Handel is a well-known politician in Georgia. As a Republican secretary of state, she ran for governor on a platform that opposed Planned Parenthood and reproductive choice.
According to Cecile Richards, PPFA’s president, the Komen grants have enabled Planned Parenthood to provide nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and referrals for more than 6,400 mammograms. “Until really recently, the Komen foundation had been praising our breast health programs as essential. This really abrupt about-face was very surprising,” Richards said.
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