December 14, 2011 (Bound4Life.com) – Much debate has arisen lately on whether or not the Susan G. Komen Foundation plans to continue to fund Planned Parenthood. Reports briefly surfaced that it had agreed to stop, but within two days of the initial reports, Komen in Orange County, California confirmed it had given Planned Parenthood two more grants.
After this report I made a media contact with Komen officials to ask if there was any verity to the potential defunding of Planned Parenthood. Their answer, at least thus far, is that they have funded Planned Parenthood and will continue to fund Planned Parenthood. According to Komen:
Komen provides funding for local community health programs through our network of more than 120 affiliates across the United States. Each affiliate is responsible for assessing the breast health service needs—including education, screening, treatment and support—for the residents within its region as well as identifying and providing funding to organizations that can meet those needs. Annually, Komen Affiliates fund programs that provide breast health education and breast screenings for hundreds of thousands of low-income, uninsured, or medically under-served women via nearly 2,000 local organizations, including 19 Planned Parenthood programs.
The decision to fund any breast health and screening program is based on a thorough assessment of a community’s breast health needs and resources. In some areas of the U.S., our affiliates have determined a Planned Parenthood clinic to be the best or only local place where women can receive breast health care.
This raises an obvious question based on the most recently publicized funding that followed reports Komen may have stopped. The money Komen gave to Planned Parenthood two days after the alleged stopping of funding was to the abortion provider headquartered in metropolitan area of Orange County, CA. Is Komen really saying it could not donate money to another women’s health agency in that hugely populated area that could serve women’s breast health without killing babies in the next room? That’s pretty unbelievable.
What’s more astounding is that the Orange County Planned Parenthood alone (and Komen has 18 others on the list) had a 2010 total revenue of $31,518.017. It’s hard to grasp with the human mind how an agency with that kind of money coming in can be the place with the greatest need to reach out to “low-income, uninsured, or medically under-served women.” Let’s also remember that Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms.
As far as removing funding, all Komen’s reply said was this:
Twice each year, Komen affiliates conduct a thorough review of their community health grant programs to ensure that funds are being used only for breast health services. Under no circumstances are Komen funds used to fund abortions or other non-breast services, and any service provider shown to violate those rules would be immediately terminated from the Komen grant program.
Once again, we can only say that’s an irresponsible answer. That might be a nice intent, but we can’t say it enough: Money given to Planned Parenthood is fungible. The more money it gets to funnel into its “breast health program”—whatever that is, since it can’t even do mammograms—is more money freed up for its abortion program. You cant give clean money to a dirty organization.
We hope, we pray, this rumor that Komen will stop donating to Planned Parenthood may prove reality. So far there is no evidence of it, but we will wholeheartedly rejoice if it happens.
Until that day we mourn for the babies whose death might have been funded because Planned Parenthood had a bit of extra money to give because it is so well-funded.
To sign a petition to defund Planned Parenthood, click here.
Reprinted with permission from Bound4Life.com