Komen folded under pressure and has reinstated funding to Planned Parenthood. If PP is so concerned over the health of women, then why did they bully one of our nation's loudest voices for women's healthcare, into giving them back a few million dollars (which PP had already re-raised after sounding the alarm over Komen)--a mere drop in their billion dollar budget? Seriously, PP had a temper tantrum and like a toddler in the candy aisle, it worked.
What's striking to me is that No Planned Parenthood Clinics actually provide mammograms. Low income women seeking mammograms are referred to other clinics by PP staff. Women may receive breast palpations, which is substandard care for low-income women, especially Black women, whose breast cancer rate is higher than any other demographic. What, then, is Komen so interested in funding? If PP only provides pass-thourgh funding for breast health why isn't Komen simply funding those other clinics, which are more aligned with their own mission?
In the midst of the political struggle between Komen and PP over the last few days, Komen had a chance to rise above the mediocre preventive so-called healthcare provided by PP and create excellent low-income mammogram clinics in underserved neighborhoods. These could have been clinics championing health and life. Instead, Komen caved to the two-year-old screaming her head off over the lollipop and has returned to funding an organization that does not truly care about women's health.
Here's what Planned Parenthood does do:
97.6% of pregnant women who go to PP receive abortions
2.4% pregnant women receive non-abortive services
PP provides 27.5% of America's abortions every year
PP performed over 5,300,000 abortions between 1970 and 2009
I was so frustrated with this situation. Pro-life/Pro-choice arguments aside, this partnership *literally* makes no sense. Why are they paying a middle man to find a lump, and then ship a woman out for further services? I'm fairly certain all this could be accomplished in ONE place, with the amount of money Komen is giving PP. And NOW, after this whole debacle all the pro-lifers know about this partnership. I had no idea. But I was proud of them for pulling the funding. And now I'm just disgusted how they could cave so easily. Have some conviction. Grow a spine. Pro-lifers are going to be very reluctant to donate to Komen any further, even if it is possible for us to designate where exactly we want our funds to go. I, for one, want no part of it.
ReplyDelete