Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Susan G. Komen for the Cure decided to reverse their decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening services they provide. This, due to the huge backlash. Remember when we could support worthwhile charities without it becoming a political football? So they were going to lose donations from pro choice advocates for the original decision, now they'll lose support of anti-abortion folks. Dumb, dumb, dumb to open this whole can of worms in the first place.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 They really brought this on themselves. Surely (one would think), breast cancer prevention should be apolitical, and transcend partisan crap. Their ham-handed initial response - denying there was anything political about it, despite the fact that only PP was singled out for being cut off - didn't help.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox I was one of the 'activist complainers' about this move yesterday. I made an online donation directly to Planned Parenthood, then signed one of the many online petitions in defense of PP, writing in the comments section to SGK that until they reversed this misogynistic and draconian decision, I would only donate to Planned Parenthood and other women's health organizations and never again donate to SGK or support an SGK race participant or purchase another 'pink product' sponsored by them, ever again. And I believe it was that third action, multiplied by tens of thousands of petition signers, that hit them hardest. I believe they received enough of these petition comments to realize that the pink ribbon branded products are their bread and butter, and without continued consumer support, their coffers would begin to dry up. The backlash was going to hit them hard in their wallet, which is the main reason, IMHO, that they course corrected. I'm confident this was more about future boycotts of their pink ribbon products than anything else. As for the ugly politics this organization now finds itself engaging in... Until SGK's conservative wingnut leadership like Karen Handel (who lost her bid for Governor of Georgia running on a platform of promising to dismantle Planned Parenthood) is permanently removed from SGK, I don't see their newly-adopted mission to interject far right politics into women's health issues disappear: <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/02/417161/karen-handel-komen-planned-parenthood-split/" target="_blank">http://thinkprogress.org/healt...d-split/</a> <> The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation caved to right-wing pressure and cut ties with Planned Parenthood. Their rationale was simple: Komen had new rules preventing it from funding any organization under investigation, so a spurious congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood led by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) prohibited Komen from continuing to fund breast exams through Planned Parenthood for women who otherwise wouldn’t receive them. But now, new reporting from the Atlantic reveals that Komen adopted the new guidelines to cut off Planned Parenthood. That effort was led by Komen President Elizabeth Thompson, who knew that Planned Parenthood was the only group that would be affected by the rule, and Karen Handel, Komen’s new senior vice president for public policy. Handel, who came on board in April, is a former secretary of state in Georgia and a Republican activist who describes herself as a “pro-life Christian.” Handel ran for governor of Georgia on an anti-abortion platform, and was endorsed by Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin. She wrote during her failed gubernatorial campaign that “since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood.” In December, Komen made the decision to stop supporting Planned Parenthood even though Komen’s professional staff recommended that the foundation continue to fund the organization. The decision caused an “uproar” at Komen, the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg reports: [T]he organization’s top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board’s decision to cut off Planned Parenthood. Williams, who served as the managing director of community health programs, was responsible for directing the distribution of $93 million in annual grants. [...] But John Hammarley, who until recently served as Komen’s senior communications adviser and who was charged with managing the public relations aspects of Komen’s Planned Parenthood grant, said that Williams believed she could not honorably serve in her position once Komen had caved to pressure from the anti-abortion right. “Mollie is one of the most highly-respected and ethical people inside the organization, and she felt she couldn’t continue under these conditions,” Hammarley said. “The Komen board of directors are very politically savvy folks, and I think over time they thought if they gave in to the very aggressive propaganda machine of the anti-abortion groups, that the issue would go away. It seemed very short-sighted to me.” Hammarley, who was laid off from Komen last year, said that for about a year, a small group within Komen began discussing the ramifications of cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood. “As we looked at the ramifications of ceasing all funding, we felt it would be worse from a practical standpoint, from a public relations standpoint and from a mission standpoint. The mission standpoint is, ‘How could we abandon our commitment to the screening work done by Planned Parenthood?’” he said. Komen’s grants to Planned Parenthood totaled $680,000 in 2011 and $580,000 in 2010, going to at least 19 affiliates of Planned Parenthood to fund breast-cancer screenings and other breast-health services. Since the two organizations partnered in 2005, Komen’s grants have paid for roughly 170,000 breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals. But right-wing anti-choice organizations have targeted the partnership since 2005 because Planned Parenthood also provides abortions. In December, the Southern Baptist Convention recalled pink Bibles that it sold to raise money for breast cancer research, citing an “unacceptable link” between Komen and Planned Parenthood. Conservatives cheered Komen’s decision, while others have found it awfully convenient that the grants to Planned Parenthood were stopped after the hiring of an anti-abortion activist. <>
Originally Posted By mele It's been interesting to read all of the articles about where SGK's money has been going. Enlightening, even. Seems they really have no problem granting money to many, many other companies who are under investigation. Or taking money from them either. Shady.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Thanks for that info, skinnerbox. I think Komen is going to see a big hit in their ongoing support.
Originally Posted By FaMulan I've heard elsewhere that the "reversal" really isn't a reversal. Someone posted it to facebook (and I'm too lazy to re-find it) that Komen restored this year's funding, but most likely won't renew funds. So, I felt I needed to make my voice known to Komen. I went to their website and sent the following message: Please, when reviewing your funding of entities under investigation, you de-fund every entity under investigation. Not just one that may not be in line with the personal political agenda of members of your staff. Groups like Planned Parenthood do so much more than provide one procedure. They provide complete health care services for women, including breast cancer screening and are a life saver for the millions of women who have no other choice for their health care. Frankly, this move to stop grants to Planned Parenthood has soured me on your movement and proved that the Foundation has lost its way.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I think Komen is going to see a big hit in their ongoing support.<< I agree. FWIW, if an organization such as Komen wants to take a stand against abortion, that's their decision to make. What I don't like is being sneaky about it, coming up with phony guidelines that are merely there as an excuse to drop funding. Be up front about it, take a stand, and stop pretending. Then people can donate or not knowing full well the whole intent.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 My company used to sponsor the Komen race around here, but then Komen got a little ridiculous in their demands and we dropped them. And from what I've heard they're kind of a bunch of bullies. Keep in mind I'm referring to the people that run it not the people that participate in the races themselves.
Originally Posted By hopemax That's what I've heard too. I feel like people were already tiring of Komen and then they gave everyone a big ol' reason to move away from them.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Here's an organization rated A+ by Charity Watch (Komen got a B+). <a href="http://www.bcrfcure.org/" target="_blank">http://www.bcrfcure.org/</a>
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "Thanks for that info, skinnerbox. I think Komen is going to see a big hit in their ongoing support." I think this too. I'm sure this will sour a lot of people on participating, and/or buying "pink products". I know it's made me decide not to enable them. There may not be a "boycott", but I'll bet that people will just not buy. I think Komen has really hurt themselves here and I don't see how they can turn it around any time soon.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox If you really want to "sour" your opinion on SGK, read the following article on just how entrenched Karen Handel is within the organization: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/karen-handel-susan-g-komen-decision-defund-planned-parenthood_n_1255948.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...948.html</a> Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen's Anti-Abortion VP, Drove Decision To Defund Planned Parenthood <> WASHINGTON -- Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's leading anti-breast-cancer charity, has insisted that its since-reversed decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood arose from a routine change in criteria for grant eligibility that had nothing to do with abortion politics. But a Komen insider told HuffPost on Sunday that Karen Handel, Komen's staunchly anti-abortion vice president for public policy, was the main force behind the decision to defund Planned Parenthood and the attempt to make that decision look nonpolitical. "Karen Handel was the prime instigator of this effort, and she herself personally came up with investigation criteria," the source, who requested anonymity for professional reasons, told HuffPost. "She said, 'If we just say it's about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.'" Emails between Komen leadership on the day the Planned Parenthood decision was announced, which were reviewed by HuffPost under the condition they not be published, confirm the source's description of Handel's sole "authority" in crafting and implementing the Planned Parenthood policy. Handel's strategy to cut off Planned Parenthood involved drafting new guidelines that would prevent Komen from funding any organization that was under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. Since Planned Parenthood is currently the target of a congressional inquiry prompted by House Republicans into the way it uses government funds, the family planning provider would have been immediately disqualified from receiving new Komen grants. After the initial uproar when news of the decision broke, the story that Komen told the public was that the cut-off was unrelated to a political agenda against Planned Parenthood. "While it is regrettable when changes in priorities and policies affect any of our grantees, such as a long-standing partner like Planned Parenthood, we must continue to evolve to best meet the needs of the women we serve and most fully advance our mission," the charity said in a statement this past Tuesday. Americans United for Life and other pro-life groups have been pressuring Komen for years to cut ties with Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics offer abortions, even though none of Komen's money was used toward abortion services. Handel's internal strategy, the Komen source told HuffPost, was to exaggerate those attacks and use them to convince the leadership that funding Planned Parenthood was a political liability. "Komen's been dealing with the Planned Parenthood issue for years, and you know, some right-wing groups would organize a protest or send out a mailing every now and then, but it was on a low simmer," the source said. "What Karen's been doing for the past six months is ratcheting up the issue with leadership. Every time someone would even mention a protest, she would magnify it, pump it up, exaggerate it. She's the one that kept driving this issue." Handel and Komen President Elizabeth Thompson didn't respond to requests for comment. The source said Handel submitted a final version of the new grant criteria to Komen leadership in November, and the board approved it in December, at which point Komen's top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned "on the spot." "It was apparent to everyone in the organization that Karen was doing everything in her power to defund Planned Parenthood," the source said, "and that's why Mollie Williams quit." Williams has previously declined to comment on why she left, but she told National Journal that she respects the work of Planned Parenthood. But the criteria did gain the support of Komen's top executives and board. And in an interview with HuffPost, board member John D. Rafaelli, a Democratic lobbyist and a supporter of Planned Parenthood's mission, took responsibility for the changes. As the only lobbyist on the board, he told HuffPost, he should have anticipated the political fallout. "Honestly, I didn't think it through well enough," Rafaelli said. "We don't want to be pro-choice or pro-life; we want to be pro-cure. We screwed up, I'm saying it. We failed to keep abortion out of this, and we owe the people in the middle who only care about breast cancer and who have raised money for us an apology." <> The rest of the story can be found at the link. FWIW, I'm completely done with SGK. I will never deliberately purchase a 'pink ribbon product' if another choice is available. I won't sponsor SGK racers but other participants of similar events, like the one Avon sponsors. And I will continue to donate directly to providers like Planned Parenthood, which takes a far smaller percentage of donations for "administrative costs" than SGK does. I also hope that SGK is investigated for fraud, given what has surfaced recently regarding top leadership such as Karen Handel, and their private partisan war against women and the donors who support them. This group is taking advantage of significant tax deductions that I now believe they are no longer entitled to receive. SGK is a badly managed organization dipped in fraudulent practices that needs to go away.
Originally Posted By fkurucz This makes me think about just how Byzantine the funding is for our health care system, where we have all sorts of inefficient fund raising organizations raising money via charity drives and what not.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I just had arthroscopic knee surgery last Thursday. Sometime soon I should post a thread about my insurance experience. Heh.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I don't really have a dog in the fight. But, having given contributions to SGK in the past I do have to wonder why they are funding Planned Parenthood at all. I would prefer all the money (outside of necessary overhead) to be used to find a cure for breast cancer.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb They fund breast exams which many women get, as they should, during their annual. Women who for one reason or another don't have a health care provider can get this important checkup at PP.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I just had arthroscopic knee surgery last Thursday. Sometime soon I should post a thread about my insurance experience. Heh.> Whoa. Hope you're doing okay, man (quite apart from any insurance travails).
Originally Posted By skinnerbox What did you have done, SPP? I had a posterior bucket handle tear in my right knee medial meniscus, that was snipped out over 15 years ago. The surgeon was able to keep most of the meniscus intact, although I already had plenty of arthritis damage in the knee, some of which was hastened by the torn meniscus. (I waited too long to fix the tear, until it was locking up my knee about a dozen times each day.) Fortunately for me, I didn't have to deal with insurance issues because it was done by Kaiser. Even though I'm not that happy with Kaiser overall, the one bright spot for San Francisco KP members is orthopedic surgery. The surgeons are some of the highest rated in the country.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Associated Press reports that Karen Handel has now resigned from Susan/ G. Komen for the Cure.
