Opinion: Parenthood

Thứ Hai, 6 tháng 2, 2012

Is Komen's flip-flop really a victory for Planned Parenthood?

Caving to pressure, the cancer-fighting charity apologizes for defunding Planned Parenthood. But that doesn't mean Planned Parenthood will get its Komen grants

Barely 72 hours after the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, which is devoted to fighting breast cancer, ignited a firestorm by pulling the plug on most of its breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood, Komen announced Friday that it had reversed course. Komen had maintained that its rules prevented the charity from funding Planned Parenthood while the latter was under investigation by a congressional Republican. But critics suspected that Komen's right-wing donors, upset that the foundation gave money to a national abortion provider, had exerted pressure. Now, Komen has apologized to "the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," and amended its rules so that Planned Parenthood retains its "eligibility to apply for future grants." Is this a "victory" for Planned Parenthood and its supporters?

Planned Parenthood scored a major win: Let's all be glad that the Komen foundation did "the right thing," says Alyssa Rosenberg at ThinkProgress. And thanks to this week's debate, many Americans now know that Planned Parenthood is not, as critics wildly claim, "an abortion factory franchise." Planned Parenthood offers plenty of other women's health services. With any luck, this realization will create "a moment when advocates... work to build a bigger long-term base of donors for Planned Parenthood and all of its health programs."
"Susan G. Komen for the cure does the right thing, but support for Planned Parenthood should continue"

Hold on. Did Komen really reverse course? We may be jumping the gun, says Ezra Klein at The Washington Post. If you parse Komen's statement, you'll see the charity isn't necessarily backing down. The promise that Komen will "continue to fund existing grants… and preserve [Planned Parenthood's] eligibility for future grants" appears to leave open the possibility that the foundation still intends to either reject or decrease Planned Parenthood's funding in the future — "albeit on less overtly political grounds."
"Is the Susan G. Komen Foundation backing down?"

Regardless, this is a step in the right direction: Yes, Planned Parenthood will still likely lose money in the future, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. But the statement still suggests a "more intelligent approach to the issue." Komen will no longer deny funding based on a mere investigation. That's good, because "otherwise, any investigation in Congress for any particular purpose would get used to block legitimate charities from getting grants no matter what the motives behind the probe might be."
"Komen announced that Planned Parenthood eligibility for funding will continue"

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Did the Komen charity's Planned Parenthood diss backfire?

The pink-ribboned Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity says it dumped Planned Parenthood to distance itself from controversy. Whoops

Until this week, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation was a widely admired, largely apolitical breast-cancer charity, best known for its pink ribbons and charity races. Then it pulled the plug on most of its breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood, and all hell broke loose. Komen says that it had to cancel the grants because new Komen rules prevent the charity from giving money to organizations under government investigation. (A congressional Republican is investigating Planned Parenthood.) But The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg reports that the decision was all about abortion, and Komen board member John Raffaelli tells The New York Times that supporting the nation's largest abortion provider was hurting Koman's credibility with donors. Planned Parenthood quickly replaced the $700,000 in lost Komen funds, thanks to outraged donors — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged $250,000 — and high-ranking Komen officials have resigned in protest. In the long run, how badly will this controversy hurt Komen?

Komen won't live this down: "Komen's brand is imploding," and they deserve it, says Erin Gloria Ryan at Jezebel. By picking anti-abortion zealots over poor women who need mammograms, Komen has seriously alienated young women and progressive supporters who'd been "drawn to the cause expressly because of their non-political approach to a non-political disease." Komen is no longer a "viable charity," and "the only thing it's curing right now is people's desire to raise any more money for them."
"Meet the Komen exec behind the Planned Parenthood defunding"

Actually, Komen will be just fine: Let's say Komen did defund Planned Parenthood over abortion, says Tina Korbe at Hot Air. "So what?" That doesn't "lessen the nobility of Komen's mission." Quite the opposite. Komen gained "credibility as an organization exclusively dedicated to the eradication of breast cancer," without any "notorious" side issues. You can "advocate for 'women's health' without advocating for 'abortion rights.'"
"Komen official resigns over decision to cut Planned Parenthood funding"

Komen will survive — but this will sting: Abortion is a issue over which reasonable people strongly disagree, says Megan McArdle at The Atlantic. It's no wonder Komen wants no part of it. But instead of quietly letting the grants just run out, Komen sent an "extremely explicit" anti-abortion message by defunding Planned Parenthood, and that's what's "probably going to cost them significant public support." Too bad, because everyone wants to eradicate breast cancer, and that effort is the big loser in this divisive imbroglio.
"Why did Susan G. Komen pull the plug on Planned Parenthood?"

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