Was Komen’s decision ‘political’? Only because Planned Parenthood can’t have it any other way (Updated)
UPDATE at 11:25 a.m.: Well, the pro-abortion rights folks’ politicization of this decision had its intended effect: The Komen organization is, at least in part, backing off its earlier decision. Congratulations, Planned Parenthood: You’ve officially turned a leader in breast cancer research into another of your subordinates.
Let this be a warning to any group thinking of teaming up with Planned Parenthood in the future: You can check in any time you like, but you can never leave.
ORIGINAL POST:
The founder and head of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure did an interview with the Washington Post that casts the cancer-fighting organization’s highly charged decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood in a different light. For starters, Komen isn’t really stopping its funding of Planned Parenthood, just sharply curtailing it: Komen will give grants to just three Planned Parenthood clinics rather than the previous 19. CEO Nancy Brinker explained the change this way: “We have decided not to fund, wherever possible, pass-through grants. We were giving [some of] them money, they were sending women out for mammograms. What we would like to have are clinics where we can directly fund mammograms.”
Whether that dampens the excitement of anti-abortion activists who’d cheered the decision remains to be seen. Judging by the comments below the Post’s story, however, pro-abortion rights activists aren’t going to accept this rationale any more than the initial explanation that Komen wouldn’t support organizations that are under investigation. This decision has already become as hyper-politicized as anything relating to abortion.
That’s the real story here. I can think of no organization, beyond political parties themselves, that is more politicized than Planned Parenthood. That’s because no issue is more politicized than abortion, and Planned Parenthood provides one in four abortions in this country. Nor are we talking about a shy political operator: During the past two decades, it has spent almost $31 million on campaign contributions and another $6.5 million on lobbying to push its cause (and, one assumes, keep government funding flowing).
Anything done in regard to Planned Parenthood, then, is bound to be deemed “political” by someone. It’s “political” for governments, or organizations like Komen, to give money to Planned Parenthood. It therefore becomes “political” for any entity to stop giving money to Planned Parenthood.
To act as if stopping the funding is any more “political” than the original decision to begin the funding is absurd.
If you disagree, tell me this: How exactly could Komen have decided to part ways with Planned Parenthood what wouldn’t have been decried as “political”? Having giving to Planned Parenthood once, was Komen bound either to continue giving forever or to suffer a smear campaign by Planned Parenthood and its supporters once it stopped?
If so, that’s not advising Komen to “stay out of politics.” It’s mob-style blackmail. Nice little charity you’ve got there. Shame if anything happened to it.
Planned Parenthood and its supporters are right about one thing: Fighting breast cancer shouldn’t be “political.” There are plenty of truly apolitical organizations and public agencies through which Komen can effectively work. But now that Komen has decided that working with Planned Parenthood isn’t the best way to achieve its goals, the supposedly anti-”political” types seem determined to make sure Komen is considered “political” from now on. And that’s a far worse sin than anything Komen committed by stopping funding to 16 clinics.
At its heart, this episode is about the broader movement to make everything “political”: the personal, the private, everything. This movement is primarily a cause of those on the progressive left, including a great many supporters of Planned Parenthood, who see no limits on what ought to be the sphere of government and, thus, politics. So, spare me the tears about a “political” action against little ol’ Planned Parenthood.
(Note: Normally, my first post on a Friday is a Poll Position question, and I was originally going to make the Komen decision the subject of today’s post. Then I decided I wanted to make a stronger statement of my own opinion on this story. A Poll Position post about a different topic will be posted later today.)
– By Kyle Wingfield
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430 comments Add your comment
clyde
February 3rd, 2012
1:59 pm
n for above.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:00 pm
“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
kaylee94
February 3rd, 2012
2:00 pm
Get a clue people. If u have a babby just bc u are scared of abortion u r stupid. The babby will have a bad life anyway and now 2 people will be misebal instead of 1. DUMB. There’s NOTHING wrong with abrotion.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:00 pm
“What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?” (Job 31:14-15)
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:01 pm
“For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)
Ernest T. Bass
February 3rd, 2012
2:02 pm
Gonna have to remember they ‘Pro Coat-hanger Abortion ” rights language.
Conservatives never allow themselves to take their backwards thinking to a logical conclusion.
If you ban abortions in America you are not going to stop any abortions.
You just move them to the back alleys and then maybe the mother will die. Yeah !!!
Independent
February 3rd, 2012
2:02 pm
Sion at 1:54
Susan G. Komen does more than just support research into curing breast cancer, tehy also help woment diagnose it (that is where the grants to PP for mammograms came in, and to living with breast cancer (like buying a wig for a woman who is going through chemo).
VoiceOfReason
February 3rd, 2012
2:03 pm
@kaylee94
Please don’t reproduce. Thanks from America.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:03 pm
Ernest…..Congratulations you win the award for most ignorant post of the day!
Woofy
February 3rd, 2012
2:03 pm
Why aren’t all the pro-lifers riled up over the defense money (taxpayer funded) that goes to murder innocents, also known as collateral damage, to promote the war machine? And why are most of the pro-death penalty folks “pro-life”? The bible doesn’t say, “Thou shall not murder, except…” Twisting the scripture anyway to suit your beliefs. Hypocrites all!
kaylee94
February 3rd, 2012
2:03 pm
And who cares what jesus would think about it. He was just some creepy bearded guy who lived 10,000 years ago and couldn’t even aford a boat. They didn’t even have abrotion tecnology back them so he defintly didn’t know about it so couldn’t have an opinion.
Jose
February 3rd, 2012
2:03 pm
VoiceofReason
A hit dog will always holler.
pistol pete
February 3rd, 2012
2:04 pm
Hi Kaylee94 And they say we can’t spell here in Georgia. Great Job.
UGA 1999 One of these days the good lord is going to smite you.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:05 pm
pistol….for posting his word. Right.
yesssir
February 3rd, 2012
2:06 pm
Cons wanna make you have the baby, but dont want to help pay for it….go figure.
Dirty Harry
February 3rd, 2012
2:06 pm
Kathy @1:48 p.m.
Kathy, and I’ll bet all 95,000 of those people are still truly thankful that they have been ALLOWED to live to their present age because their mothers understood that their unborn child had the RIGHT to be born alive.
Aquagirl
February 3rd, 2012
2:06 pm
Aquagirl, in case you missed any of my comments on many of Kyle’s threads, I am not a “con” on this issue.
You said something patently crazy and I called you on it.
Your stance on abortion, gun control, or the price of tea in China has nothing to do with your entirely incorrect blathering that Penn State is not under investigation, unlike Planned Parenthood.
You were wrong, now deal with it, I am never an ally of provably false statements even if we agree on other issues, whatever they may be. And I’m certainly not going to go read every other post you’ve written just to decide if you’re a homie worthy of a free pass or something.
kaylee94
February 3rd, 2012
2:07 pm
The people that say abrotion is murder are the same people that say being gay is a choice.
Those people are just ignorant trash anyway. So who cares about them?
Don’t like abrotion? Don’t get one. Don’t like being gay? Stop crying in public.
Independent
February 3rd, 2012
2:08 pm
“independent….So you feel that life does not begin until a fetus is 9 months old?”
I personally believe that life begins when the fetus is able to survive on its own (viability). Until that time it is just another part of the mother. By the way, in the Jewish religion, I understand that “quickening” is used as the measure of when life begins.
A question: If the majority of people believe that life begins at conception, why do we not have funereals after miscarriages? Why do we not name the embryo as soon as we get a positive pregnancy test?
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:08 pm
kaylee….What is “abrortion”?? And who is ignorant?
VoiceOfReason
February 3rd, 2012
2:09 pm
@kaylee94
Shouldn’t you be at the mall? Let us grown ups discuss.
pistol pete
February 3rd, 2012
2:10 pm
UGA 1999: You have no more chance of getting into heaven than a camel passing through the eye of a needle.
Lose the hate and give away all your money and maybe just maybe….
stands for decibels
February 3rd, 2012
2:10 pm
So you believe that Christ didnt care about the value of human life?
not that you asked me, but I believe one can be a devout evangelical Christian and support a pro-choice public policy.
If you disagree, you might want to tell those “baby-killling” Mennonites, who put it this way:
“We stress the importance of respect for the life of the fetus. We condone abortion only under the most exceptional of circumstances. When abortion appears to be the least bad choice among several undesirable options, we stress the need for discernment in the faith community.
Because of the diversity of moral conviction in our society, we realize that what the law permits is not necessarily moral behavior for the Christian. We believe, however, that the church should witness to society in favor of the “general presumption against any human decision to terminate life.” We will offer counsel about alternatives to abortion.
While many could support legislation which seeks to curtail some types of abortion, we recognize that legislation banning all abortions will not stop abortions from happening. Instead, it places sanctions on those women who choose abortion, without regard for the fathers involved or the fact that the women are already suffering the consequences of their choice. It also disproportionately affects the poor, as those with means will find ways to obtain safe abortions. Further, legislation is using the government to force others to comply with our Christian standards, something our forebears clearly rejected. We believe that the demands of discipleship are to be accepted voluntarily, not imposed legally upon everyone regardless of conviction.”
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:10 pm
Independent…So if a baby is born at 6 months into gestation. And can only survive by being placed on a breathing machine. You are saying that is not a human? WOW!
Dirty Harry
February 3rd, 2012
2:10 pm
Kaylee, now put that bong down! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
February 3rd, 2012
2:12 pm
“I am never an ally of provably false statements even if we agree on other issues”
If that were the case, Aquagirl, you’d have never made your statement about “Penn State” being under investigation.
Your typical double standard attitude of “Do as I say and not as I do” is par for the course in your postings.
clyde
February 3rd, 2012
2:13 pm
UGA has a bible?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
February 3rd, 2012
2:14 pm
Another question–if killing an unborn is no problem (hey, it’s just a tissue mass), why do we prosecute folks who kill an unborn child through negligence, such as drunk driving accidents?
gregory
February 3rd, 2012
2:15 pm
UGA, what a poser, being president has to do with character, just like Clinton who cheated and also worked with the most dishonest people on earth, Wall Street, and who also backed out Glass/Stegall (spelling not sure). Read what Mitt’s company did for money, and he did indeed move jobs to slave worker companies and this waste of flesh moved 100 million to his kids, no taxes and paid less taxes than people that work for a living. The right and their super pacs will make less and less a impact as voters see that everyone of these billionaires have no country but only markets. Not that I love Obama due to his connections to Wall Street, but he beats the crap out of the other two morons, all Newt wants is to sell books and Mitt to help his fellow crooks.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:15 pm
UGA has a clue!
Roberto
February 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
Liberals suck.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
February 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
Libtards believe it’s OK to kill an unborn child if it’s “unwanted”.
How sick do you have to be to label an innocent life “unwanted”?
John
February 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
As long as abortion is legal in this country, PP has every right to offer abortions whether conservatives like it or not. Republicans need to accept it and leave PP alone.
Komen has every right to offer grants to PP or any other organizations they choose to fund. They also have the right to pull their funding from any organizations. People who donate or support Komen in any way, have the right to voice their opinion and stop making donations or offer any type of support to Komen. They have every right to put pressure on Komen. They did and succeeded. Komen probably didn’t help themselves by giving the “under investigation” reason.
This is America and our freedoms…this is how America works. We have the right to protest and all sides exercise those rights To try an make this political or unAmerican is flat out wrong.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:18 pm
gregory…..Obama is worth $10million. How did he make that money?
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
February 3rd, 2012
2:19 pm
“Another question–if killing an unborn is no problem (hey, it’s just a tissue mass), why do we prosecute folks who kill an unborn child through negligence, such as drunk driving accidents?”
Because we vote idiots into lawmaking and prosecutorial positions?
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:19 pm
John…You are right PP can do whatever they want as long as it is legal. However we do not have to support the companies that support them!
yesssir
February 3rd, 2012
2:20 pm
Roberto
February 3rd, 2012
2:17 pm
Sore loser……….
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:20 pm
Tib….AMEN!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
February 3rd, 2012
2:22 pm
How did Obozo make that money? A good chunk of it was from Moochelle’s high paying no-show job in Chicago.
Edward
February 3rd, 2012
2:24 pm
Kyle is going to lie and spin this exactly the way his handlers tell him to do, so trying to get him to admit such is pointless. Komen politicized this from the beginning, hell, the GOP and their goon-squad in congress politicized Planned Parenthood long ago. But Kyle conveniently ignores that and spins spins spins the party line. Heil!
Ernest T. Bass
February 3rd, 2012
2:36 pm
“For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)
Thats your Religion. Not mine.
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:36 pm
Ernest…your problem not mine.
Scooter
February 3rd, 2012
2:36 pm
How did you land such a sweet gig, Kyle? The lone conservative voice for a liberal rag like the AJC? That’s a long row to hoe, my friend. My thoughts and prayers go with you!
philosopher
February 3rd, 2012
2:38 pm
How incredibly infantile spin onf the machinations the entire world just watched! Your complete lack of understanding of the consequences of such a move, your dismissal of the impact of the loss of care to so many, many women says a lot of very unpleasant things about you. If you want to read a mature take on this, read Bookman’s article and if you can’t bring yourself to do that, at least scroll down to the last statement. Maybe you’ll grow up just a little bit.
Penguinmom
February 3rd, 2012
2:40 pm
I was happy to hear the Komen had stopped funding Planned Parenthood because that has always stopped me from supporting Komen walks, etc in the past. I had planned on giving to one of the walks this year in support of their decision. Now that they have given into the pressure of the left, I will again be back to not donating to anything with a Komen stamp on it.
And I am a woman not an angry white male.
philosopher
February 3rd, 2012
2:40 pm
Correction: Meant to say: What an incredibly infantile a spin on the machinations that …(shows how angry you have made me)
Get Real
February 3rd, 2012
2:41 pm
getalife……you truly need to get a life; your blithering rants about your precious Obama eliminate ANY potential credibility that you may have…but then again “stupid is as stupid does”
fulldawg
February 3rd, 2012
2:42 pm
Let us wait and see when and where the next shoe drops Mr. Wingfield…..
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
February 3rd, 2012
2:44 pm
UGA 1999, serious question.
Why should your religious beliefs be the determining factor for my personal life, so long as my personal life doesn’t affect your life, liberty or property?
UGA 1999
February 3rd, 2012
2:46 pm
Tiberius….who is going to fight for the voiceless?