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After a tumultuous two weeks for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, which saw it defund and then restore funding for Planned Parenthood, local supporters of the former are absorbing lessons and pondering their future support.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Komen Foundation, well-known for its breast cancer awareness programs and charity, said it would no longer fund Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screenings. The reason for the $680,000 cut, which would primarily affect low-income and uninsured women: A new Komen policy says the group cannot fund operations under federation investigation. Planned Parenthood is being investigated in what critics call a conservative Republican push against groups that provide family planning counseling and abortions.
Komen, founded in memory of a Jewish woman by her sister and heavily supported by Jews across the country, launched the assault on Planned Parenthood at the instigation of Senior Vice President of Public Policy Karen Handel, who this week resigned.
In leaving, Handel admitted to supporting the funding cut, but maintained that plans for the change in strategy predated her hiring and were not politically motivated.
In Baltimore’s Jewish community, participation in Komen’s Race for the Cure, as well as general support for the Komen Foundation, has been extremely strong.
“When I first heard that Komen was cutting funding for Planned Parenthood I was very disappointed,” said Jill Petschek of Cockeysville, a long-time supporter of the operation. “It sounded political, and that’s something I never would have expected from Komen. Now that the Foundation has reversed its decision I feel better, but I’m still biased against it.
“I still have questions about why Komen would have hired someone like that in the first place,” she added. “I need to know more about what went into that choice, before I decide whether I will continue to support the foundation.”
Although she walked in the Komen races, Karen Segal of Stevenson says she was never a “huge” supporter of the operation.
“I know that Komen did an amazing job of raising awareness about breast cancer, but I like organizations like the Breast Cancer Coalition or the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation that are more focused on research, treatment and direct services to people with cancer, not necessarily organizations focused so heavily on breast screening. Mammograms are controversial anyway,” Segal said. “Now I know that I need to look more closely at the organizations I support.”
Karen Rosenberg has been following Komen’s public face book page since the story broke.
“Personally, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach,” she said. “I am angry that Karen Handel seems to have used her political influence and right-wing agenda to influence Komen and I am saddened to see that the abortion issue has been brought into what should be only about women’s health.”
She is, however, pleased “that it’s put women’s healthcare in the media. And there’s a good lesson to be learned from this — research organizations before you contribute to them.”
Segal added, there is a lasting lesson: “These organizations should be run by public health experts who are non-political. I could never vote with my pocketbook for an organization that puts politics before women’s health. And I must admit that when the story broke, I made a nice contribution to Planned Parenthood.”
Local Komen: No National Funds
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Maryland’s spokeswomen Lenore Koors and Brittany Fowler confirm that Planned Parenthood of Maryland rec-eives no funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Yet, Koors says that the Maryland Komen office has received many emails from donors.
“Mostly, our donors want to know how the situation will affect them, and what we are doing for uninsured and underinsured women here in Maryland.
Fowler says that 75 percent of the money raised by Komen in Maryland stays in the community, and the rest goes to national research.
“Last year, we gave out $800,000 for national research, but $1.6 million came back to Maryland hospitals,” she said.
In 2010—2011, Komen’s Maryland operation awarded $2.2 million to 27 large grant programs across the state. The group also provided more than $103,000 to 15 small and travel grants throughout the year.
The Maryland grants supported education, clinical breast exams, mammograms, diagnostic services, support services and more to tens of thousands of women in the state.
For more information, visit komenmd.org and plannedparenthood.org .