Komen vs Pro-choice & Dem. Senators: It's Political! Not About Brinker's "Efficiency!"
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure's response to the tremendous backlash against cutting off funds and support from Planned Parenthood is that the decision was based on "efficiency" and was not a political one. On its website Komen said its action had been "mischaracterized" so the organization needed to "set the record straight." In the Youtube video, Nancy G. Brinker, founder and organization leader commented that the decision was made as part of a broad effort to use donations more "efficiently."
Does the organization really feel such statements are going to whitewash the history of their actions and responses, especially when notification of such actions can go global and viral in an instant? They were an organization that should have remained apolitical. Cancer does not see political affiliations. It is a leveler of Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, constitutionalists, socialists, revolutionaries, anarchists and Anonymous. On the one platform where Komen could and should look to achieve consensus and agreement, the organization backpedaled and turned its back on another because of "efficiency?" This justification will not fly. Not after what the record shows.
The Komen's decision to withdraw support for Planned Parenthood was made in October. The news was kept quiet until Tuesday and the furor has continued ever since. Board members said they feared a GOP-led congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood could damage Komen's reputation among donors. If there was any waffling about the decision, and there may have been because the Foundation surely knew that there would be a backlash against withdrawing support and funds from Planned Parenthood, all hesitancy most likely went out the door because of what happened last month.
An evangelical Christian group called Lifeway sold pink bibles in support of Komen. Lifeway found out Komen was giving Planned Parenthood money. According to Amy Black, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College, who studies evangelical Christians,
"As soon as people figured out the link between Komen and Planned Parenthood — that there was a funding link there — Lifeway pulled all the bibles off the shelves immediately. This was the kind of thing that captured a lot of activists' attention."
Brinker's political ties may also have been the tipping point for Komen, making the foundation particularly susceptible to pressure from "anti-abortion" activists. Judy Norsigian Executive Director of the Our Bodies, Ourselves, the women's health guide points out,
"One of the things many women don't understand is that the founder of Komen, Nancy Brinker, has had a long-standing and supportive relationship with the Bush family, with the Bush presidencies, with the Republican party, and on many occasions has supported policies that most supporters of Komen probably wouldn't approve of."
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