The only thing that seems clear is that Komen is desperately trying to make the campaign to kill Komen stop — and that is what the venom from Planned Parenthood in recent days has been aimed at.
Komen, of course, has never said this week: We will never do business with Planned Parenthood again (as I would love them to do, but I was and am under no delusions). And in this statement they appear to be somewhat consistent there . . . maybe: They have tightened funding guidelines and thus Planned Parenthood did not look eligible, but that does not mean PP necessarily will not get grants in the future.
As Ezra Klein puts it:
So they are, perhaps, backing down. Or perhaps not.
Komen had no idea what they were in for, clearly. And now a whole lot of gracious people in my inbox want their thank-you donations back.
Nothing must get in the way of the wholesale slaughter of innocents. Moloch demands it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThey seem to have taken their Contact Us page offline, but via the magic of Google Cache I have pulled the number to their National HQ: 1-877-465-6636
I personally think there is zero chance they will stop paying for abortions now that the Left has made it clear that not funding baby killing will not be tolerated, but if you do, feel free to call and let them know of your disappointment.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust color me disgusted by the whole thing. I wish there was more I could do but I already don't donate to Komen or PP and don't buy a whole lot of pink ribbon stuff, so ultimately I guess I can just sit here, be disgusted and hope we can get a President Romney and a conservative congress in place to do some damage to PP. Silver lining, I had been planning on donating to Komen and now won't, so there's that. Saved myself some money there I guess.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKomen's new policy was not to give money to any organization under investigation, including a congressional investigation. Congressional committees have the power to investigate anything they please, and they often use this power to score political points. Regardless of what you think of Planned Parenthood, is this a good policy? What if the next congress is controlled by Democrats? Would you want the funding sources of right wing non-profits adopting this policy?
Every non-profit that's a political target is one subpoena away from being "investigated" by Congress. Having a general policy triggered by congressional investigations increases the power of congress over our organizations.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOf course that's what they "said". I believe they meant to disentangle themselves from a controversial organization that doesn't provide mammograms but does kill babies. And instead of being honest about it, they made up this "investigation" baloney to cover themselves. Well, since that is a tactic of the Left, the Left saw right through it and raised a stink, reminding everyone that killing babies is JOB NUMBER ONE of the Left, above all else you must not attempt to stop the baby killing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen you have as much power and influence as PP a silly little thing as the most effective methods for finding and combating cancer can't stand in your way. I mean come on PP needs to meet their bottom line, and you can't seriously think women's health can get in the way of that.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm requesting a return of my "thank you" donation. If they don't return it, I'll dispute the charge on my credit card. The credit card asks you to select the reason for the dispute. The reason I will select is "The quality of goods or services were not as expected or advertised". And I'll never make another donation to Komen. I wouldn't have donated in the past if I had known they supported PP.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseVery unfortunate. I just posted a comment opining that they would not back down, if for no other reason than to preserve their pride. Looks like I was wrong. Komen made a terrible mistake; they already alienated one core demographic, now they will have ended up alienating two core demographics (if they thought they would get any gratitude from the left for this move they will quickly be disappointed).
Still, this has been, and will be, a blow to PP. The organization's carefully cultivated (and totally false) image, as of a provider of "women's health" services to the poor, has been badly tarnished, and they have been exposed as a shamelessly political organization that cares more about its power and funding than anything else. The message here has become very clear: if you donate to PP and then withdraw funding, they will publicly attack and humiliate you. The easy way to avoid that will be to not donate to them in the first place.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePlanned Parenthood is in the business of killing helpless, innocent, unborn children. What do people expect them to do to organizations that cross them?
Shouldn't it be obvious that when you deal with barbarians you will end up being treated barbarically?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you donated to Komen in the past few days and want a refund ...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGet your money back from @komenforthecure
Telephone: 1.877.GO.KOMEN
Email: donorinquiry@komen.org
White flag indeed. I am just sick.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf the Komen Foundation backs down, it will be a victory for pure thugism and a loss for freedom of CHOICE for private foundations to do whatever they wish with their own money. I will no longer support them if they back down.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKathryn, we all know that money talks. Some of your readers spontaneously (if prematurely) contributed to Komen this week. They, and others, may very well be asking themselves if there is a truly life-affirming alternative to Komen. Maybe a faith-based organization that, given our free-exercise-addled regime, needs a little extra help these days anyway.
If Komen is indeed folding I can't see ever giving to them again (the PP-partnership had them off our list for years). But many still wish to support the cause. Suggestions?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe American Cancer Society has ALWAYS been a superior alternative. Their whole approach is more effective and more supported by doctors, and doesn't involve silly stuff like pink buckets of fried chicken.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFar better yet is The Cancer Prevention Coalition. External Link
We should be focused on prevention of cancer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSusan Komen is now in a no win situation. A lot of conservative pro-life women did not know any of their donations to Komen could possibly end up with PP. Now they know and they also know Komen has caved due to pressure from the left. Those dollars will now, undoubtedly, find a home elsewhere.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse>Komen had no idea what they were in for, clearly.
Aint it the truth. And the Right, particularly the National Review version, in my experience never does. In vain the Right will look for civility and generosity on the part of their adversaries, but it is nowhere to be found. You have to be ready for blowback, fully anticipate it. Either inStep B when you respond, or in Step A so you have the strongest possible case. It's called thinking beyond Stage 1. It's what economists, real ones in any event, have to do all the time. If the Right were the dominent culture politically, saying "Here it is, deal with it," might make sense. But it is not. The Right is fighting from a position of weakness. It must fully expect massive blowback whatever it does, because your enemy views you as having no credibility. To beat the enemy you must outthink him. And prepare for the worst.
Naivity is not a virtue, guys. It will not be rewarded.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis whole episode makes me question just how much we are being told about the research into breast cancer and its causes. Specifically, the link between abortions and breast cancer. In 2006, Komen and other organizations, including medical, said evidence showed at least a "plausible" link. In 2011, Komen claims no link? This sounds just like the global warming/climate change game. Imagine if research shows an undeniable link? Will that be suppressed because of the threat PP sees to its own game? It's happening every day with the climate change debate. It happens with wind power (how many articles have you seen about the negatives on those giant windmills?) It happens every year with the March for Life. I find it absolutely frightening that any one organization has this much power to dictate what the public is entitled to know. As a copyeditor for a news organization who has to deal with selective reporting, it's no surprise to me that news stories fail to mention anything that threatens the abortion industry, that pro-life people are cast as crazies who want to deny rights rather than defend life.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThey got my money, first-time donation, and my thanks. I feel suckered. I hold little hope for the careful wording "PP is welcome to apply for grants" hoping Komen will turn them down.
So now every solicitation (and I expect thousands) that Komen mails to me, I will write "No Thanks! You backed down!" on it, put it in their post-paid envelope and mail it back to them.
I won't return their emails because those just go into the email dumper.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe point you seem to be missing is the response to SGK defunding Planned Parenthood didn't come from Planned Parenthood - it came from those of us foolish enough to think that Komen was an apolitical organization whose main concern was women's health. Those of us who have volunteered and donated for years felt duped - and we were. But not anymore.
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