2.01.2012


Many of you may have heard by now of the Komen Foundation's defunding of breast cancer screenings by Planned Parenthood. If you haven't, I urge you to click here and read about it.

(I try and keep my political ramblings confined to either the ears of my husband, the ears of my friends, or my own little brain, but this is just too much.)

(Please keep in mind that I am in no way suggesting that breast cancer is not a serious, life-threatening disease that deserves research dollars and attention.)

The sheer size of the Komen Foundation has always unnerved me just a little bit. It seems to absolutely dominate all other foundations in terms of solidarity, events, corporate support, and awareness. Almost, really, as if it were in the business of cancer, so to speak. During October you can't swing a tit without bumping into something pink. And yet, we're still not able to conquer the disease. 

And now the foundation so famous for being in the business of saving lives has drawn a line in the sand and decided to cut funding from an organization hell-bent on doing just that. 


Say what you will about Planned Parenthood - that they provide abortions, that they encourage lax morals. What I can tell you from years (yes, YEARS) of association with the organization (as a patient as well as a volunteer), is that they are in the business of *saving* lives, not *ruining* lives. 

I can't put into words is what it's like to sit on the end of a sexual assault hotline, listening to a woman who was sexually assaulted a week prior and doesn't know what to do. Or what it's like to look into the eyes of a patient coming in on a Saturday for a procedure that will most definitely change her life. Or what it's like to look into the eyes of someone on the other side of the fence, protesting and hurling insults at women on the most difficult day of their lives. 

What I can tell you is what it's like to sit in an annual meeting with volunteers and employees of Planned Parenthood and hear how there was an increase in pregnancy terminations. I can tell you how upset everyone becomes, how they are so frustrated that their prevention services weren't enough. I can also tell you how inspiring it is to hear these men and women brainstorm how to do better, how to increase awareness and try to PREVENT having to perform these procedures. 

Because let's face it. Abortion is not fun. It's not an easy decision, and it's certainly not a simple one. To indicate that it is is an insult to the woman coming in for the procedure and an insult to society as a whole.

So why do we have to be so divided? Why does one side assume that the other loves killing babies and that the other hates women? Why can't we just all agree to do our damndest to prevent and educate? 

The Komen Foundation cites the auditing of Planned Parenthood by  the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee as the reason for severing ties with PPH. Disregarding the fact that the representative who launched the investigation is a stalwart in the pro-life movement, an audit by the government is not uncommon. As a government employee, I can assure you that we're audited every single year by our parent agency. It's just the way of life. If you receive public funding in any way, shape, or form, you're going to be audited. Which indicates that the move by the Komen Foundation was not motivated by something so simple.

At least there's this


image credits:
Walk for Life Rally photo via olivia bee

No comments:

Post a Comment