Komen's Planned Parenthood decision prompts tentative pro-life praise

Denver, Colo., Feb 2, 2012 / 13:01 pm

Abortion opponents have praised Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood, but they remain cautious on lending support to the breast cancer charity.

Eve Sanchez Silver, founder of International Coalition of Color for Life, told CNA that “God is served whenever funding is cut to the human abattoirs of Planned Parenthood.”

But Silver, who spent four years on Komen's Hispanic Latina Advisory Council before quitting over its funding of Planned Parenthood, says she is “cautious” and believes Komen “will most likely choose to continue funding” the abortion provider in the long run.

Under recently adopted policies, Susan G. Komen for the Cure will no longer fund organizations that are under government investigation. The category includes Planned Parenthood, the subject of a congressional inquiry over financial irregularities and possible involvement with criminal acts.

In a Feb. 1 statement, Susan G. Komen for the Cure said there was no “political” motivation behind the choice to de-fund the abortion provider. They said their “more stringent eligibility standards” were meant to “safeguard donor dollars” and “free up dollars for direct services to help vulnerable women.”

“We regret that these new policies have impacted some longstanding grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our decision is not about politics,” the foundation stated.

Janet Morana, who co-founded the Silent No More Awareness Campaign to help post-abortive women, appreciates Komen's decision but told CNA that “it's a little too soon to be writing checks” to the cancer charity.

Morana would like to see Komen take a stronger position on the link between abortion and breast cancer. She said Komen's previous Planned Parenthood grants were “nonsensical” and akin to “the American Lung Association donating to a tobacco manufacturer.”

The cancer charity takes the position that evidence “does not support a link between abortion and breast cancer.” But Komen acknowledges that “some case-control studies have suggested abortion may increase the risk” of the disease.

But Morana says an “uncanny” number of post-abortive women have suffered from the condition. She shares the view of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, which describes abortion as “the single most avoidable risk factor for breast cancer.”

Pro-life activist Lila Rose, whose Live Action group filmed undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood, released a statement praising Susan G. Komen for the Cure for its “pro-woman decision.”

Rose said the nonprofit's money was “better spent elsewhere,” since “not a single Planned Parenthood even has the equipment to do a mammogram.”

The Family Research Council agreed, praising the charity for a new policy that would “only award grants to organizations that actually do mammograms.”

The group noted that Komen's alliance with Planned Parenthood was an “unlikely” pairing, “with one group setting out to save lives, and Planned Parenthood dedicated to ending them.”