Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In

Q8: Planned Parenthood provides health services in many of the nation's poorest communities. How does your new policy align with your mission of serving women who lack resources to pay for important breast health services?

A8: Susan G. Komen is deeply committed to providing breast health services to women throughout the U.S. It is our belief that where a woman lives should not determine whether she lives. Komen provided funds for 700,000 breast screenings last year alone, and provided financial and social support to another 100,000 women, as part of our $93 million investment in education, public health outreach and service to vulnerable women last year alone. That work will continue. We believe these new standards will further enhance the integrity of our granting process and strengthen our overall community health program.

Notice how the answer doesn't address the question? That is a typical "political" response - simply ignore the question.

Thanks for posting this, luckydog!

Susan G. Komen should be ashamed of themselves. They bowed down to a Bully. Sad, I guess I will just donate to Planned Parenthood instead of Komen.

After an hour of google search, I found what I was looking for about the Komen founder and other people employed by the Komen organization.

I didn't know that the Komen organization was run by the anti-choicers...but now I do, and so does everyone else.

Pro choicers cannot be pressured into donating or supporting an organization that does not support them via their workplace, so I expect many corporations who once supported Komen charity activities through their workers will have to distance themselves from this organization's political agenda.

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/komen-founder-republican-donor

Komen's founder is pretty conservative, too. Komen CEO Nancy G. Brinker, who founded the foundation in memory of a sister who died from breast cancer, was the chief protocol officerfor the United States from 2007 to 2009 under the George W. Bush administration, and before that served as his ambassador to Hungary.

Brinker is also a major Republican donor, and has given more than $175,000 to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee since 1990, according to donor data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Her late husband, Norman Brinker, was the chairman of Brinker International Restaurants, which owns the chains Chili's, Maggiano's, and Macaroni Grill. Norman Brinker gave more than $440,000 to Republicans between 1990 and his death in 2009.

As RH Reality Check pointed out Wednesday, Komen's board also includes a staunchly anti-abortion member:

Second, sitting on Komen's Advocacy Alliance Board is Jane Abraham, the General Chairman of the virulently anti-choice and anti-science Susan B. Anthony List and of its Political Action Committee. Among other involvements, Abraham helps direct the Nuturing Network (sic), a global network of crisis pregnancy centers known for spreading ideology, misinformation and lies to women facing unintended pregnancy. Also on the board of Nuturing Network (sic) is Maureen Scalia, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

This is all to say that perhaps the Planned Parenthood decision isn't all that big of a surprise, given the politics of people involved with Komen.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Abraham

Jane Abraham (born September 28, 1961) is an American political activist. She has been serving as Vice Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party since 2006. She is married toSpencer Abraham, former United States Senator from Michigan and former United States Secretary of Energy under President George W. Bush.

In 1993, Abraham was asked to assist in leading the newly formed Susan B. Anthony List, at that time a political action committee run by pro-life women with no experience in politics. Abraham followed Marjorie Dannenfelser as the first two politically experienced leaders of the group. Today, the SBA List is a not-for-profit membership organization with over 280,000 members and a connected Political Action Committee that supports pro-life political candidates and issues.

In 2002, Abraham founded her own consulting firm, Abraham Strategies. She considered running for her husband's old Senate seat in 2006, but decided against it.^[1][2]

Is this saying that supporting Komen is supporting only ONE political party when monies come in from all? I will NEVER donate to a charity again. They have become untrustworthy with the use of our funds. This money should be going to the people it is meant to help not elections. This really hardens the arteries. Thank you Lucky Dog.

I don't trust big charities they all seem to have a problem with having over paid CEO's and managers plus they do use a lot of donated money to get more money instead of using the money on the projects that they are suppose to support.

SGK is just one more charity that started out with a good idea and was taken over by people who are now just in it for the money.

SGK will not recover from this misstep and has under estimated the outrage from the people who did support them.

Did they really think that they could just quit supporting Planned Parenthood without having to explain themselves or having a backlash from their supporter?

It seems to me that there was likely more pressure on the organization from within that from without. The big question for me is how the Foundation allowed a political zealot like Karen Handel to worm her way into a leadership position in the first place. She had publicly stated that she could not support the mission of Planned Parenthood, which is in large part the same mission as the Komen Foundation, so couldn't the Foundation see the handwriting on the wall? It is highly probable that she was a plant by the right to bring about this very result.

The only efficient cure that I can see for this cruel injustice (balancing the lives of thousands of real women against an abstract religious notion that life begins at conception) is that everyone who would otherwise have contributed to the Komen Foundation should instead send their contribution to the breast health fund of Planned Parenthood and should write to Komen telling them why they gave to Planned Parenthood instead of Komen.

For this top official, "Run for the Cure" has become "Run from the Mess" she made! Because of her political opinions this "top official" has disrespected and disgraced Susan Komen's memory. This Kommie Foundation will not receive another RED CENT from this WOMAN....I will not buy another pink ribbon, hat or any other paraphernalia that relates to this organization EVER again!!! ALL donations will go directly to Planned Parenthood!!!

You reap what you sow -- the Komen folks may rue their decision to make breast cancer screenings a political issue.

I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies in my remarks. I am merely recalling some fuzzy memories. I recall that United Way has issues with spending money on its CEO's expensive travel and office furniture etc. It always struck me as odd that a "charity" would be promoted in the workplace where you were "asked" to have a portion of your paycheck donated to United Way. I believe in charities but as 3sheets2thewind noted several charities have been made the news as having questionable spending.

But, I suggest there is a larger scheme afoot. Years ago, the Nature Conservancy made the news regarding a controversy over a land use decision which was out of character for a land conservation organization. During that time, I think it was noted that the percentage of the funds used for administrative costs was higher than what most "charities" spend.

Be careful with charities, look at their board of directors, office holders and staff, many neocons have found some ripe pickings in charitable organizations.

It appears that the Susan G. Komen foundation has reversed its decision.