Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure
Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public policy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure – one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.
Below is the letter. Note that Handel says she is declining the offer of a severance package from Komen — which might have required her to keep silent.
February 7, 2012
The Honorable Nancy Brinker
CEO, Susan G. Komen for the Cure VIA EMAIL
5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250
Dallas, Texas 75244
Dear Ambassador Brinker:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US – and increasingly around the world.
As you know, I have always kept Komen’s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority – as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board’s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.
We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen’s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization’s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.
I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen’s future and the women we serve. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone’s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants.
What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision – one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact – has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly.
Just as Komen’s best interests and the fight against breast cancer have always been foremost in every aspect of my work, so too are these my priorities in coming to the decision to resign effective immediately. While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline. It is my most sincere hope that Komen is allowed to now refocus its attention and energies on its mission.
Sincerely,
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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343 comments Add your comment
Dale
February 7th, 2012
11:25 am
Good riddance. Her feigned shock at the politicization of the incident will play well with her radical Republican cohorts, no doubt.
Mr. Jame
February 7th, 2012
11:26 am
good riddence! and now Brinker can go, too
ABC
February 7th, 2012
11:26 am
Good riddance is right. And please don’t come back to Georgia. People already think we are a bunch of backwards, racist rednecks, we don’t need you and Newt to confirm those stories.
GaBlue
February 7th, 2012
11:28 am
Ron Curtis,
Powerful and frightening video. Thanks for posting!
Wrex
February 7th, 2012
11:29 am
I’m amazed at the political tone deafness of Handel, the board at Komen for the Cure, and the right wing in general. Komen changed the way it handed out grants for the sole reason of ridding itself of one of the largest providers of women’s health care in the world. They did this because of the constant attacks by Catholic and other anti-abortion groups. Komen had done very well in spite of those constant attacks, but that changed when it hired a group of political activists to set it’s policy. It made it’s decision in spite of warnings by the very people who were charged with the nuts and bolts of providing the grants. Some of those people resigned. Komen went forward with it’s new policy.
As proof that Komen had only political intentions, when their ‘moral’ stances cost them money, they changed their moral stance. It was never about morality, it was always about the ’scorched earth’ politics of the right wing and the anti-abortion groups.
Komen for the Cure will be an example used in public relations courses the world over because of the failure of the stewards of Komen which allowed it to become a tool of the anti-abortion forces. They decided to become part of the political sewer instead of staying on mission and providing help in the fight against breast cancer.
The people who pushed Komen to take sides in the abortion debate are also after the Girl Scouts of America. They lie and distort to demonize anything Planned Parenthood does. We shouldn’t place our trust in liars, regardless of how much they insist they are doing some god’s work.
RAMZAD
February 7th, 2012
11:31 am
I hope we can now find a way to get rid of the smell of the rotten garbage! It will help to move the trash can away from the house and spray some Lysol.
Now you've done it
February 7th, 2012
11:34 am
Georgia’s major and most consistent exports are misery, hate, and stupidity.
Just Nasty & Mean
February 7th, 2012
11:35 am
Karen Handel shows she is a woman of conviction and principle.
She is correct to extricate herself from a vacillating organization with a blurry vision of its charter.
A classy move, Karen. Thank you.
Vote for Pedro
February 7th, 2012
11:37 am
Karen dropped out of the Georgia Gubernatorial race due to her right wing principles, and now she throws Komen under the bus for her right wing principles. She is clearly vying for something, but what? Romney is not right wing enough to appoint her to anything. Neither is Gov Deal.
Karen what are you trying to get for yourself here that you burn down every house you touch, claiming you did it for the greater good? Will Palin appoint to to be Vice Dropout Of Alaska?
Becky
February 7th, 2012
11:38 am
Is there a Mr. Karen Handel?
sheepdawg
February 7th, 2012
11:39 am
Georgia’s major and most consistent exports are misery, hate, and stupidity.
Thanks to our manipulated ignorant electorate who keep drinking the kool aid. Worst example yet is the current thief governor.
John Smoltz
February 7th, 2012
11:39 am
Gov. of Ga – Swing and a miss
VP of Komen – Swing and a miss
Karen, sweetie, you better pay attention. You only get one more chance.
Bob Rock
February 7th, 2012
11:40 am
Can you fault someone for standing strong with their belief’s even when it goes against the majority? If this is why Karen resigned, I would have to commend her, even though I disagree with her stance. If she resigned due to political reasonings then she is trash. Komen on the other hand is permanently damaged. They are done. This is what happens to organizations that exploit serious medical issues. It is disgusting.
@Ron Curtis – thanks for posting that link.
jsh
February 7th, 2012
11:41 am
The damage is done. I will not support Komen again! The Am Cancer Society has a group as well. Komen is only contributing 20% of funds raised to research…it has become what the United Way did..high paying execs who are nonprofit hacks! Komen could careless about the health of women. Komen Foundation also has a cadre of lawyers protecting *cure for* which is crap! I am not paying for this kind of nonsense! Google and learn….there are many great charities out there..Komen is not one of them!
The Love Handels
February 7th, 2012
11:42 am
Yes Becky, there is. He’s called the Karen Handler, although he is not doing a very good job at the present.
Wrex
February 7th, 2012
11:42 am
The Truth from the National Cancer Institute. No significant risk factor in using birth control.
How do oral contraceptives affect breast cancer risk?
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer depends on several factors, some of which are related to her natural hormones. Hormonal factors that increase the risk of breast cancer include conditions that may allow high levels of hormones to persist for long periods of time, such as beginning menstruation at an early age (before age 12), experiencing menopause at a late age (after age 55), having a first child after age 30, and not having children at all.
A 1996 analysis of worldwide epidemiologic data conducted by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer found that women who were current or recent users of birth control pills had a slightly elevated risk of developing breast cancer. The risk was highest for women who started using OCs as teenagers. However, 10 or more years after women stopped using OCs, their risk of developing breast cancer returned to the same level as if they had never used birth control pills, regardless of family history of breast cancer, reproductive history, geographic area of residence, ethnic background, differences in study design, dose and type of hormone, or duration of use. In addition, breast cancers diagnosed in women after 10 or more years of not using OCs were less advanced than breast cancers diagnosed in women who had never used OCs. To conduct this analysis, the researchers examined the results of 54 studies. The analysis involved 53,297 women with breast cancer and 100,239 women without breast cancer. More than 200 researchers participated in this combined analysis of their original studies, which represented about 90 percent of the epidemiological studies throughout the world that had investigated the possible relationship between OCs and breast cancer (2).
The findings of the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (Women’s CARE) study were in contrast to those described above. The Women’s CARE study examined the use of OCs as a risk factor for breast cancer in women ages 35 to 64. Researchers interviewed 4,575 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1994 and 1998, and 4,682 women who did not have breast cancer. Investigators collected detailed information about the participants’ use of OCs, reproductive history, health, and family history. The results, which were published in 2002, indicated that current or former use of OCs did not significantly increase the risk of breast cancer. The findings were similar for white and black women. Factors such as longer periods of use, higher doses of estrogen, initiation of OC use before age 20, and OC use by women with a family history of breast cancer were not associated with an increased risk of the disease (3).
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives
Dishonesty and distortion usually doesn’t help a person unless they are a con man or a con servative.
BREAKING: Karen Handel, Komen VP, Resigns in Protest | News
February 7th, 2012
11:44 am
[...] You can read Handel’s entire letter here: [...]
td
February 7th, 2012
11:44 am
This whole thing was never about breast can cancer because none of the clinics listed had the machines to actually do the screenings. All they did was to refer clients for screenings. This issue was about the fact that PP is a abortion mill. Karen found out her foundation was funneling money to PP to perform abortions and made the money go away and then PP, with the help of NOW and the lib media, made up this BS about breast cancer for the poor would be reduced.
P.J.
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
Ms. Handel is the symbolic example of an extremist idealogy that has plagued this country for decades since Roe v. Wade. Along with a fellow board member, they injected politics into their decision to cut funding for low income women. This is the Party more persistent on protecting the fetus than a human being. This is the Party that controls every aspect of the State Capitol and has yet to produce one jobs bill. This is the Party that has Atlanta on the map per Census Bureau as the highest rated city/town in the U.S. for wealth disparity. This has everything to do with continually suppressing the poor to benefit the few, and Georgia has a long history of this oligarchal mentality.
Kyle
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
Why doesn’t Planned Parenthood just host there own, “Race for Abortion”? Oh that’s right, because nobody wants to donate their money for something they don’t believe in. But you left wing nut jobs wouldn’t know anything about that.
The Love Handels
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
Pump the Jam everyone… Pump the Jam.
Amen.
Mr. KnowitAll
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
Come on home, Karen. Georgia needs a woman of class and conviction. You belong here.
Richard
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
If this has nothing to do with politics, as she claims in her resignation letter, why is she quitting?
Kathy
February 7th, 2012
11:47 am
Oh yes, and thanks Ms. Handel for bringing this whole controversy up again and keeping it going. Ms. Brinker, you can wait another week or so before resigning so it will keep the controversy going longer. More people will be exposed to the reality of SGK Foundations politics and lack of principles.
td
February 7th, 2012
11:48 am
P.J.
February 7th, 2012
11:45 am
Ms. Handel is the symbolic example of an extremist idealogy that has plagued this country for decades since Roe v. Wade. Along with a fellow board member, they injected politics into their decision to cut funding for low income women.
How many breast screening did these PP clinic do? Maybe it could be that you lefts extremist ideology of using abortion as a form of birth control is the real issue here.
kfp
February 7th, 2012
11:49 am
How about firing the person responsible for hiring Handel?
Becky
February 7th, 2012
11:52 am
Ever notice it is always the ignorant males that profess to know what is best for a woman? Stay out of my uterus.
JAWJA
February 7th, 2012
11:54 am
Ha ha, the witch is dead! However more heads will need to roll for Komen to settle its credibility issues. Until the issue is resolved, I will send my contributions to Planned Parenthood.
Ron Curtis
February 7th, 2012
11:54 am
@ GaBlue, Bob Rock You’re very welcome. Here’s the link again for those who may not have seen it yet: “What cancer is and is not”: http://youtu.be/2ZwpSwm_4as A very powerful statement by a woman who has been through breast cancer hell.
Abortion - The Truth
February 7th, 2012
11:54 am
It is astonishing to read the comment from Planned Parenthood supporters. The ignorance portrayed on a daily basis is evidence as to why they would put their reproductive health in the hands of such a deceptive organization. Why anyone supports this organization is proof of organizational conspiracy to decieve the public to put money in their pockets. Planned Parenthood has become a criminal enterprise, participating in a criminal conspiracy – namely, “accessory after the fact” – by covering up statutory rape, pedophilia, child-prostitution, and more. Why are people so blind? Please make sure that the individuals providing you or your loved ones “health care” at a Planned Parenthood clinic is qualified to do so. There are better facilities to entrust with your health and life then Planned Parenthood. Do some research before you take your daughter/s for treatment at any of these cesspools called medical clinics. Not that your daughter needs you to know about who is handling her “reproductive health” when she seeks it without your knowlege. Visit Live Action http://liveaction.org/ and watch the undercover videos. If you care about yourself and your loved one, don’t subject them to the type of care Planned Parenthood serves up. Oh, don’t forget to ask Planned Parenthood for a free lollipop condoms before Valentine Day! I would get a couple and double wrap, cause they are made to fail. For the love of intellegence people, get a clue!
ali
February 7th, 2012
11:55 am
It’s a shame – Handel not only tainted SGK, she is also tainting other cancer organizations. This weekend I worked to raise funds for Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. I cannot tell you the number of times people said that if their donation would be given to SGK that they would not donated. I spent the day assuring people they are two separate organizations.
The Goobernator
February 7th, 2012
11:55 am
Dang Karen, You couldn’t stand up to Nathan Deal and now you can’t stand up the alleged false characterization of you PP input with SKG. When are you going to get some Big Boy Pants and stand up for yourself? … or have you been seduced to the ‘dark side’ of lobbyist?
Xx
February 7th, 2012
11:56 am
The level of hate, bigotry, and intolerance on display here by you left wing tards is so predictable…..
James Dobson
February 7th, 2012
11:56 am
Becky, those are men with the really small ones…secure men don’t feel the need to control a woman’s reproductive organs.
P.J.
February 7th, 2012
11:58 am
Sure, td. They did more than 750,000 last year. To address your poorly constructed run-on sentence, birth control is necessary for women for a variety of reasons. First, it helps to control the discharge during a menopausal cycle. Second, it eliminates having all of us pay for an uninsured kid who goes to the emergency room. Finally, sticks and stones only break thee bones but words will never hurt thee. Hey td, Fascist, Racist, Homophobe…. No, you did.. No, you did… Actually, I kind of like playing the name games.
Charles
February 7th, 2012
11:58 am
This looks like a setup at SGK. This woman passes a new donation criteria and then they discover there is an (politically motivated) investigation of Planned Parenthood. SGK could lose a lot of support over this indiscretion.
Tom
February 7th, 2012
12:01 pm
liveaction is nothing but a bunch of moonbats like Dan “Barren Von” Becker.
td
February 7th, 2012
12:02 pm
P.J.
February 7th, 2012
11:58 am
You are telling an outright lie. At the 19 clinics that this organization donated money too NOT a single screening was done. You my friend are a typical lib. When you know you can not win an argument then you resort to name calling. What should one expect from an intellectual light weight.
Kiteman
February 7th, 2012
12:03 pm
Karen “I passed my GED” Handel is a sorry excuse for an “executive”. I think it’s hilarious that the cameras snapped a picture of her rabbit teeth. Not only is she stupid, she is butt ugly, too.
One good thing to come out of this is that it exposed the Komen “chairty” for what it is: a business meant to enrich its executives at the expense off donors/suckers.
Karen Handel Exits Susan G. Komen: The Resignation Letter - Forbes
February 7th, 2012
12:04 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution got its hands on Handel’s resignation letter to CEO Nancy Brinker in the wake of the scandal, [...]
Disgusted American Male
February 7th, 2012
12:04 pm
I find it interesting that some women on here..(right wing weirdos) are ALL to EAGER to GIVE UP the GAINS women have made in the last 40yrs…..are you that stupid? Do you think for one minute – that Men would allow you to Tell US..what to do with Our Penis and Testicles? As my late WW2 generation mother said…”When men can Push a 10lb baby out thier ass, then and ONLY then..can they have a say on Birth….until then STFU”! Im amazed how easily you women who didn’t HAVE TOO FIGHT for YOUR RIGHTS….are so easily mislead and ready to GIVE THEM UP????
Tom
February 7th, 2012
12:05 pm
td, “screenings” not + “mammograms”. The Planned Parenthood affiliates that received SGK grants passed funds thru to healthcare facilities that had mammography equipment in cases where a mammo referral was indicated.
You really need to do like I did and investigate for yourself how the SGK grant application and review process is set up and how the PP affiliates that was granted funds used them, instead of simply parroting the moonbat hysterical hyperbole and outright fabrications like so many others do.
Wife, mother, grandmother & independent voter
February 7th, 2012
12:05 pm
Let me see if I can get this right. Little Richard, Newt Gingrich, and Nancy Handel are all from Georgia. If this is, indeed, true than, in my humble opinion, Little Richard remains a Georgia peach and the other two are just the pits.
TJ
February 7th, 2012
12:06 pm
DONOR BEWARE!!! If any organization is thinking of exercising their “freedom of choice” to donate to Planned Parenthood and then at a future date decides to no longer contribute, then see how the self-appointed spokespersons for “choice” (aka Planned Parenthood) will demonize you and conduct a scorched earth policy for exercising your choice. These spoiled brats seem to have the “I am entitled to your money” atttitude. FUTRE DONORS SHOULD STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD!
Real News
February 7th, 2012
12:07 pm
Liberal media and clebs forced her removal. Planned Parenthood shouldn’t have ever gotten any money from them in the first place. Planned Parenthood is a liberal DNC contributor with Federal dollars. Just another liberal organization that is full of CORRUPTION. Abortion = Planned Parenthood = Murder.
P.J.
February 7th, 2012
12:08 pm
td, That’s demonstrably false, and you should be ashamed of yourself. It’s “lightweight” and not “light weight.” How many other butcherings of the English language are you going to make? Oh, let’s see. Independent audits already have verified that more than 750,000 mammograms were done last year alone and all two of your brain cells believe Planned Parenthood’s 19 clinics are used as abortion factories — another lie from the Right who love to deny the poor access to health care.
StoptheWaronWomen
February 7th, 2012
12:08 pm
Don’t waste your time or money with Komen; donate directly to breast cancer ressearch at the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
td
February 7th, 2012
12:09 pm
Disgusted American Male
February 7th, 2012
12:04 pm
I find it interesting that some women on here..(right wing weirdos) are ALL to EAGER to GIVE UP the GAINS women have made in the last 40yrs
You call being given the ability to murder nearly 100 million innocent lives “GAINS”. I guess you are also calling the “(right wing weirdos)” fascist?
Lisa Hartman
February 7th, 2012
12:10 pm
Why on earth would funds I donate to a breast cancer organization be then donated to Planned Parenthood? If I wished to donate to Planned Parenthood, I’d donate to PP. I will now be boycotting anything with pink ribbons on it.
Becky
February 7th, 2012
12:12 pm
And ignorant men think women get pregnant by themselves.