Arkansas Komen Speaks Out FOR Planned Parenthood Funding

As the son of a breast cancer survivor, I have always been supportive of the efforts for the Komen Foundation and have participated almost every year in the Race for the Cure either through the Three Miles of Men, the Family Fun Walk 2K, or in most recent years, watching the kids so my wife could go with her girlfriends.  I still remember the first race my family went to the year after my mom survived breast cancer.

However as a pro-lifer, I have been troubled by Komen funds going to Planned Parenthood organizations, albeit directed for breast screenings and not directly for their main-line service of providing abortions.  However, I took assurances from the fact that the Arkansas Komen affiliate made it clear that they do not give any money to Planned Parenthood.

For this reason, I was shocked today when the Arkansas Komen affiliate put out a statement objecting to the national Komen’s decision to no longer give money to Planned Parenthood.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Our state’s local Komen affiliate came out clearly and forcibly in support of Planned Parenthood.

“After Susan G. Komen National decided, without input from affiliates, to stop grant funding for any organization that is under governmental investigation, including Planned Parenthood, we feel caught in a political storm about something else entirely,” wrote Sherrye McBryde, executive director of the Arkansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure in a statement to the press today. “As we understand this, there is an investigation of Planned Parenthood by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the United States Congress. We hope Komen national will reverse its position on granting to organizations under investigation because we feel decisions of this nature should be made only after the investigation is complete.”

Full statement below.

I spoke with Rose Mimms with Arkansas Right to Life, who had a similar reaction as me to the Arkansas Komen’s decision.

“Arkansas Right to Life applauds the recent decision of the Susan G. Komen Foundation to deny grants to Planned Parenthood and is shocked that the Arkansas affiliate, who makes a point of emphasizing that they do not make grants to Planned Parenthood, would call on the national foundation to reverse their decision,” said Mimms.

Jerry Cox with the Family Council of Arkansas agrees.

“Planned Parenthood is the single largest abortion-provider in the United
States. The Susan G. Komen Foundation was helping to keep them in business.
We are glad that Komen is no longer subsidizing the nation’s largest
provider of abortions, and we encourage Komen’s Arkansas affiliate to stand
with the majority of Arkansans who are pro-life,” said Cox.

I also have a call in to the Arkansas Komen executive director as well.  Her assistant told me she was busy doing a television interview and would call me back.  I am going to be interested to hear her explanation.

From Arkansas affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure…

The Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is about breast health. After Susan G. Komen National decided, without input from affiliates, to stop grant funding for any organization that is under governmental investigation, including Planned Parenthood, we feel caught in a political storm about something else entirely.

As we understand this, there is an investigation of Planned Parenthood by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the United States Congress. We hope Komen national will reverse its position on granting to organizations under investigation because we feel decisions of this nature should be made only after the investigation is complete.

In the past, our organization has been in the hot seat because a few other affiliates around the country do provide grant funds to Planned Parenthood specifically for breast health. We could understand their need to fund these grants to serve women and we knew no Komen funds were going to anything but breast health. We knew because we require strict accounting and reporting for our grants. The Arkansas Affiliate has never granted money to Planned Parenthood, neither have we been asked. Money from Arkansas sent to Komen National goes directly into a research grant to find a cure for breast cancer.

This community has supported the Arkansas Affiliate for eighteen years. In that time, we have given a total of $12 million dollars to serve those in need of breast health funds in Arkansas. Our board will vote on February 16th to approve a slate of grants totaling another $1.3 million that will provide funds for screening, education and treatment to 23 organizations around the state.

Please do not judge, from either side of this issue, without looking at the total of our good works. We have no desire to be part of something unrelated to our cause. We will continue to focus on our mission, which is to provide breast health to the women of Arkansas.