The Carroll Standard

Komen Capitulates: Will Resume Funding Planned Parentless

Stephanie Condon | CBSNews:

Three days after pulling its funding for cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation on Friday apologized for the decision and reversed course.

"Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer," Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement. "Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities."

The cancer charity initially announced it was pulling funding for the women's health organization because Planned Parenthood is the subject of investigations by Republican members of Congress for allegedly using federal dollars toward providing abortions. The Komen Foundation said its decision was not political, and in her statement today, Brinker maintained that it was not about politics.

"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation," she said.

Brinker said in her statement that the Komen Foundation is amending the criteria of its new policy to make clear that it will only bar funding for organizations under investigation if that investigation is "criminal and conclusive in nature and not political."

The policy change doesn't guarantee the Komen Foundation will continue to fund Planned Parenthood's cancer prevention efforts. Yesterday, Brinker suggested that in addition to the congressional investigation, Komen cut ties with Planned Parenthood because they provide "pass-through" services, like clinical exams, rather than mammograms.

However, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said Friday of the Komen Foundation, "I really take them at their word that this [controversy] is behind us."

"In many ways the strength of the relationship with the foundation is where it should be -- it's at the community level," Richards said. "I think where these grants really take place is at the local level and Planned Parenthood's affiliates will be applying for programs [at the local level]. It's certainly my hope and belief we'll be partners again." ... continued...