From LifeSiteNews.com
By Ben Johnson
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation is reporting a massive uptick in fundraising ever since the women’s health organization announced it is cutting ties with Planned Parenthood.
In a conference call on Thursday its founder, Nancy Brinker, told reporters donations to the Komen foundation have increased 100 percent over the last two days.
Brinker said the organization would cease most of its funding for the abortion provider, because “wherever possible we want to grant to the provider who is actually providing the life-saving mammogram.”
“Planned Parenthood does not do breast cancer treatment and does not do mammograms, contrary to what some news outlets, including Fox News, are reporting,” Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, told LifeSiteNews.com. “They just do the manual exam that women can do at home, and then they charge women for it.”
Because of new grant criteria – and an ongoing congressional investigation – the Komen foundation announced earlier this week that it will no longer fund Planned Parenthood in most cases. In November, Komen also adopted a new policy opposing embryonic stem cell research that results in “destroying a human embryo.”
In a conference call on Thursday its founder, Nancy Brinker, told reporters donations to the Komen foundation have increased 100 percent over the last two days.
Brinker said the organization would cease most of its funding for the abortion provider, because “wherever possible we want to grant to the provider who is actually providing the life-saving mammogram.”
“Planned Parenthood does not do breast cancer treatment and does not do mammograms, contrary to what some news outlets, including Fox News, are reporting,” Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, told LifeSiteNews.com. “They just do the manual exam that women can do at home, and then they charge women for it.”
Because of new grant criteria – and an ongoing congressional investigation – the Komen foundation announced earlier this week that it will no longer fund Planned Parenthood in most cases. In November, Komen also adopted a new policy opposing embryonic stem cell research that results in “destroying a human embryo.”
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| Bryan Kemper |
Bryan Kemper, president of Stand True and the director of youth outreach for Priests for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com the decision is “going to open the door to a lot more support for them, especially from the pro-life community, who also believe in the cause of trying to bring an end to breast cancer.”
“I see this as a great victory,” he said. “It’s one more step in bringing this giant down.”
Malec agreed she was “very pleased” with a decision that “takes a great deal of political courage.”
However, Komen is not alone in raising new money from the estrangement. Planned Parenthood turned the Komen announcement into a fundraising opportunity and claims to have raised $650,000 in 24 hours. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this afternoon that he will personally donate $250,000 to the abortion organization.
Kemper dismissed the estimated windfall – and the idea that it should discourage pro-life activists. “It’s just rhetoric from Planned Parenthood,” he said. “Yes, they’re going to fundraise off of this but that doesn’t stop us from what we’re doing – getting corporations and organizations not to fund them anymore.” He added that Planned Parenthood’s purchase of a new $35 million headquarters in New York City proves “they don’t need the money.”
Kemper hoped advocates for the unborn would express their thanks for the revised grant policy by signing an online petition. “I encourage everybody to go to IStandWithKomen.com,” he said. “It’s important that we get as many people as possible to let the Susan G. Komen Foundation know they did a great thing.” Thousands had signed within the petition’s first few hours of existence.
“We certainly want supporters to contact Komen and to express their strong appreciation for this move,” Malec told LifeSiteNews. “We also encourage Komen to take it another step forward and fully recognize the abortion-breast cancer link, for which we have 55 years of overwhelming evidence – biological, epidemiological, and animal research – and also stop downplaying the link between the [birth control] pill and breast cancer.”
Some in the pro-life movement have been more reticent in throwing their weight behind the breast cancer organization.
Life Decisions International, which adds corporate funders of Planned Parenthood to The Boycott List, has announced that Komen will remain in its “Dishonorable Mention” section until it issues its final outstanding grant to Planned Parenthood affiliates. There are currently five grants yet to be fully paid to local clinics, and three will be extended through at least 2013.
But isn't it a bit ironic that the Komen foundation ever gave money to Planned Parenthood in the first place, given the linkage of abortions to a greater risk of breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteIt is somewhat like the Assoc. to Prevent Lung Cancer (a factious organization) giving money to the tabacco industry because the tabacco industries holds some stop smoking seminars.