[Cristofle]

Oh, and apparently they've also cut off all funding to stem cell research.

In addition to pulling funds from Planned Parenthood for The Susan G. Komen Foundation also decided to stop funding embryonic stem cell research centers making it fully transparent the organization has evolved from non-political non-profit to a partisan advocacy organization. That means the loss of $3.75 million to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, $4.5 million to the University of Kansas Medical Center, $1 million to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, $1 million to the Society for Women’s Health Research, and $600,000 to Yale University. That’s a loss of nearly $12 million dollars in research money to eradicate breast cancer this year alone.

Read more: Susan G. Komen Foundation Also Stops Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research | Care2 Causes

I'm sorry, what was that about this not being political again? It infuriates me that I've given money via "pink" product donations since this, because they didn't publicize this stunt. I don't give my money to people who oppose stem cell research or attack Planned Parenthood, and that's my right- they should have made it clear where they stand months ago.

[Gray Ghost]

Why does the government have to fund Planned Parenthood? Why can't that crap be privately funded? Let the supporters and liberal celebrities foot the bill. Just think of how many poor people and homeless people could be helped with the money that goes to Planned Parenthood? Helping poor people and homeless people or helping people so they can abort unborn babies? Who's gonna get more sympathy?

[ceilirose]

I heard that PP raised about $600,000 over the last few days which is a good chunk. It's disturbing what the Susan Komen Foundation did. It's politics because they have a credit card with Bank Of America that gives them money everytime the credit card is used. Using their argument they shouldn't be associated with BOA because BOA is being investigated by many agencies including federal ones.

[Gray Ghost]

Just think of how many poor people and homeless people could be fed, sheltered, and clothed with 600,000 dollars.

Let me guess, you're gonna tell me that 1 woman who wants to abort her unborn baby is more important than whether or not a homeless person lives or dies right?

[Barstool Prophet]

No not at all. But there should be a way for society to support both.

[fetch]

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost (View Post) Why does the government have to fund Planned Parenthood? Why can't that crap be privately funded? Let the supporters and liberal celebrities foot the bill. Just think of how many poor people and homeless people could be helped with the money that goes to Planned Parenthood? Helping poor people and homeless people or helping people so they can abort unborn babies? Who's gonna get more sympathy?

Planned Parenthood does a lot more than perform abortions. They DO help poor people. "Help for poor people" isn't just giving them food and money. Medical services is also needed.

[Cristofle]

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost (View Post) Just think of how many poor people and homeless people could be fed, sheltered, and clothed with 600,000 dollars. Let me guess, you're gonna tell me that 1 woman who wants to abort her unborn baby is more important than whether or not a homeless person lives or dies right?

None of that $600,000 went to abortions. The money to fund abortion services is privately funded and makes up a mere 3% of PP's overall funds. That $600,000 went to clinical breast exams and payment for mammograms and biopsies, which overall PP spends more than five times the amount of money on breast cancer screenings alone than they do on abortion (breast cancer screenings make up 16% of their budget). Literally millions of women go to PP for cancer screenings because they have nowhere else to go, and that IS every bit as important as feeding the homeless because those women who PP help are the most at risk of dying from breast cancer- working-class women aren't any more or less likely to GET breast cancer, but they are more likely to die from it because they can't afford regular screenings.

ETA: and for the umpteenth time, the government DOES NOT FUND ABORTION SERVICES. That is ILLEGAL. PP's abortion services are entirely privately funded. The federal funds go elsewhere, like cancer screenings and birth control and sexual education so women don't find themselves dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.

[Avatar]

It's hard to differenciate the other things Planned Parenthood is doing from it also being involved in abortion ... but you have to do it. If not, you risk depriving a lot of poor women of their only medical option. It's too bad Komen For The Cure couldn't see that.

[Barstool Prophet]

That is such a huge problem - the perception that planned parenthood is just an abortion clinic.

[Cristofle]

It really is so much more than that- I went there for a pap smear and a breast exam one year when I couldn't afford it anywhere else. I have friends who go there to get birth control so they, you know, don't end up with an unwanted pregnancy. They work very hard- harder than any other organization I can think of- to get accurate sexual education out to teens.

So SGK blinked- or so they claim.

Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker DALLAS - February 3, 2012 - We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives. The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not. Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair. Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities. It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics – anyone’s politics. Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve. We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure | Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker

First of all, I'm not sure this is the retraction they claim, because saying PP is "eligible to apply" for future grants might just give them time to find another way to turn it down. Secondly, I'd also like an explanation about the stem cell research. And finally, their choice of Karen Handel as VP is extremely suspect and her mouthing off on Twitter alone- despite trying to delete it- is probably an offense worth firing her over.

Really, though, this is just a complete cluster. Now everyone's mad at them. The pro-choice side still doesn't trust them and the anti-abortion side is mad at them for publicly backing down.

[Barstool Prophet]

Absolutely it is more.

You are right, they don't really have support of either side now. They are now trying to figure out who to align themselves with.

[sunnykerr]

This is why the government should fund abortion.

I'm sorry. That's my opinion, and nothing more, but I'm sure I'm entitled to it.

The right to a safe and affordable abortion should not depend on the whims of skittish corporations who are apparently increasingly afraid of... what exactly? Who the heck is their boogeyman here?

There is no scandal in abortion. All people who don't believe in abortion have to do is... not procure one. It doesn't seem that hard to me.

More importantly, though, and I'm repeating myself because I want to make extra sure this is the part we're focusing on: access to an affordable and safe abortion, which is a medical procedure that is legal, should not depend on the whims of private corporations.

That's insane.

[ceilirose]

Sometimes I think it's 1912 instead of 2012. I've been on other forums and boards today and it's just amazing, in a bad way, how politcal women's reproductive health and its issues are seen. We don't argue about men and their reproductive health like this.

Doesn't Brinker contradict herself in these two sentences?

"We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not."

and then:

"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair."

[Barstool Prophet]

She sounds a little confused to me.

[Gray Ghost]

Can you tell me 100 percent and without a doubt that none of that money did not go to one abortion? If you can then I will be silent. If you can't then my point is proven. When some type of organization whether it's private or a federal one, that organization basically has free range to do whatever they want with the funds they are given. You realize that right?
For example, when America gives a country foreign aid, how many times do you think that foreign aid has actually helped the people it was meant to help?

Abortion should not be funded by the government. No ifs, ands, or buts. That is a special interest and the government should have no role in it.
However, some people think that the government is suppose to help and baby everyone. It's all about getting handouts. Pathetic.