via Michele Gershberg, The New York Times
Susan G. Komen for the Cure said on Friday it was retreating from a decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and birth control services, and apologized for a move that thrust the world’s largest breast cancer charity into a deeply politicized controversy.
“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,” Komen said in a statement.
I’m happy the Foundation has chosen to do “what is right and fair” by revising it’s policy, but I’m unlikely to be a supporter of this charity again. This issue was the cherry-on-top after the Komen Foundation wasted hundreds of thousands of donor dollars suing other cancer charities for using “cure” and “for the cure” in their fundraising/marketing efforts. I think the Komen Foundation needs some downsizing if it’s financial base is large enough for it to be subjected to political pressures that result in compromised funding policies.