The reasons ares simple: access to reproductive health care for low income women is still being debated and Karen Handel is still employed by Susan G. Komen, even if less empowered due to public outrage. Right wing anti-Planned Parenthood people are still angry with Komen for “caving” and so the struggle to protect the services at Planned Parenthood are front and center. The war is stronger than ever between the right-wingers and leftists regarding abortion. Somewhere in this mess, we all forgot about breast cancer.
Komen really screwed up. Instead of people rallying to move forward for the sake of a cure for breast cancer, their Facebook page now has over 11,000 comments about them and the endless abortion arguments that have raged since abortions became legal. Misinformation about Planned Parenthood continues – some people on the right are angry because they don’t understand Planned Parenthood’s commitment to breast cancer. They don’t understand why Komen would fund an organization or specific clinic that does not have mammogram equipment, not realizing that not all breast exams start or result in mammograms. Sometimes Planned Parenthood and other doctors provide initial screenings and, when necessary, write prescriptions for women to receive this specialized care at mammograms centers. A prescription is required in order to receive a mammogram. Planned Parenthood also provides self-exam education.
The grant money provided to Planned Parenthood addresses the breast health care needs of 170,000 of Planned Parenthood’s 700,000 breast health care recipients, and is part of Komen’s mission to treat and eventually cure breast cancer and the grants they provide to Planned Parenthood. The partnership should continue, and the goals should be clear. But we forgot. We’re angry about abortions!
Making the fight against breast cancer the new podium to grandstand about abortions spells disaster no matter which side of the fence you’re on. Refusing services or money to help women receive these important services seems paramount to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Is anyone still interested in finding a cure for breast cancer? Is it morally right or wrong to provide funding to women who receive breast health care in a clinic that also performs abortions? What is the moral high ground in this situation?
A breast cancer fundraising group dedicated to finding a cure should also contribute money to help low-income women who are dealing with breast cancer now. I agree that the funds should be earmarked specifically for breast health care, and that should be the end of the discussion. All other discussions take away from the mission of saving lives.
Personally I have always admired the astounding fund-raising efforts by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I see their pink ribbons on a variety of products, and I’ve always made the effort to purchase those products because several women in my life have dealt with breast cancer. In my mind, each purchase, each donation was a tip to women and their fight to survive. This message must be reinstated or the efforts to find a cure will forever be stunted. Susan G. Komen should continue to provide grant money to any agency who performs breast screenings and other breast care treatment for women who could not otherwise afford such care. Komen needs to find its footing and get their message out loud and clear so that the discussion about abortion simply has no room to fester and grow like the cancer that is currently eroding what was once Komen’s rock-solid foundation.
