As Brinker Tries to Explain Komen's Split From Planned Parenthood, an Inside Account

By Robert Wilonsky Thu., Feb. 2 2012 at 10:13 AM

Categories: News, Politics

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As you know by now, locally based Susan G. Komen for the Cure has cut off its funding to Planned Parenthood, meaning it'll no longer help pay for mammograms for women who can't afford them; why, there's Nancy Brinker herself above, attempting to explain Komen's "new granting strategies" concerning its breast-health grants. (Which no one's buying.) The loss is somewhere around $600,000 annually, thanks in large part to a Florida congressman's investigation into Planned Parenthood. Komen says it has a rule about funding groups under investigation. But till now the question's been: What rule, and since when?

The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg picks up the story this morning, using several named and unnamed sources to recount how and when this happened and the resulting fall-out when Komen put a Sarah Palin pal in charge of public policy:

Komen, the marketing juggernaut that brought the world the ubiquitous pink ribbon campaign, says it cut-off Planned Parenthood because of a newly adopted foundation rule prohibiting it from funding any group that is under formal investigation by a government body. (Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Rep. Cliff Stearns, an anti-abortion Florida Republican, who says he is trying to learn if the group spent public money to provide abortions.)

But three sources with direct knowledge of the Komen decision-making process told me that the rule was adopted in order to create an excuse to cut-off Planned Parenthood. (Komen gives out grants to roughly 2,000 organizations, and the new "no-investigations" rule applies to only one so far.) The decision to create a rule that would cut funding to Planned Parenthood, according to these sources, was driven by the organization's new senior vice-president for public policy, Karen Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate from Georgia who is staunchly anti-abortion and who has said that since she is "pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." (The Komen grants to Planned Parenthood did not pay for abortion or contraception services, only cancer detection, according to all parties involved.) I've tried to reach Handel for comment, and will update this post if I speak with her.

The decision, made in December, caused an uproar inside Komen. Three sources told me that the organization's top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board's decision to cut off Planned Parenthood.

Read the whole thing here.

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Yes. It also has nothing to do with this.
Depends. Is living off welfare a bad thing?
Married first wife with whom he had two children. Started fooling around with woman who became his second wife while still married to first wife. Asked first wife for divorce while she was in hospital for cancer surgery. Had six year affair with woman who became his third (and current) wife while married to second wife. Got first two marriage "annulled" so he could get married to third wife, the one with whom he had the six year adulterous relationship, in a Catholic ceremony. I'll bet their pre-wedding confessions were something really special. Can anybody do "now you see it, now you don"t" better than the Catholic Church?
The coverage provided by employers for health care plans was previously left up to the discretion of the employer as to not only whether or not a health care plan is offered, but also, what the health care plan would cover. With the passage of the federal health care legislation, employers are mandated to offer a health care plan with a set of prescribed coverage. Previous healthcare plans by Catholic institutions did not offer coverage for contraceptives. Now the federal legislation mandates coverage of contraceptives. Personally, I think that we need to stop taking money from the federal government. After all why do you think that the drinking age is 21 and not 18? It is because the federal government will withhold providing highway funding if a state does not have a legal drinking age of least 21.
It looks like Ms Brinker has completely capitulated and is unlikely to try to pull any thing like this off again.
Paul -- as long as Baptist and Catholic hospitals, med schools, etc., take federal tax dollars, they should have to follow the rules. Period. And they take lots and lots of federal dollars.
No, they are not saying that you cannot use it, they are saying that the health care plan will not cover it.
I find it hard to believe that a Catholic organization has to consider all faiths but once hired can tell that person they can't use birth control as a condition of employment.
CZ, we are not talking about hiring practices. The Baptists do have to consider job applicants of all faiths; however, once hired they can impose as a condition of employment adherence to the tenets of the Baptist religion.
Thank you for the quote Brenda. I stand corrected. Personally, I believe that if Komen were giving funding to PP for mammograms and breast cancer screening, then everyone is way out of line for jumping all over SGK for their grants to PP. Of course people take the course that it is all going into one pot, so how do you know that your grant or donation is not supporting abortions. It is very easy, it is called a restricted grant and the recipient is required to show that the grant does go to the restricted purpose.
I know a church itself can discriminate against hiring those that aren't of the same faith but can associated organizations do the same? In other words can a Baptist hospital legally only hire Baptists? If the answer is yes then I agree they shouldn't be forced to follow this rule much like the rule allows for exemption for churches. If the answer is no then they should have to follow the same rules as every other employer. It is no different than giving that person a paycheck and them spending it on birth control.
Paul -- I get it that you aren't going to believe me, but here's a direct quote: “We’ve lobbied since 2005 that Komen was giving money to Planned Parenthood across the country, hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Karen Garnett, executive director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, said Wednesday.
I'm always amazed at "right wingers" who say they are concerned about babies but push to cut funding for healthcare and other social services designed to support single mothers, poor families, etc. What do they think happens to unwanted children? I volunteer for CPS and I see the results - abuse, neglect and damaged children who rarely overcome the challenges of their family situation. While you may not believe in PP's operation, I don't think you have any right to deny their services to others. I will respect your opinion, if you respect mine.
Again weak link of entire theory is to say that secularist = democrat, which is not the case. I suppose my old 60-40 argument was as far fetched as you thought with Komen reversing their decision today, one day later. Power to the people. They spoke and some rich old ladies realized they were a little out of their depth in making decisions that were political in nature, when they had been very successful in their funding raising ventures by staying out of the political fray.
That is correct, the church does not allow divorce. It has what is called annulment, which means the marriage never existed. The Church has since tightened the requirements for annulments. I'm afraid that I do not know anything of his prior marriages. Would you fill us in on some of the details? Personally, I do not care much for Newt and would vote for the dead possum if one was running against him.
Diane Rehm (and I do listen to her show from time to time) is hardly an advocate of honest debate. The current administration told various faith based organizations that the health care laws would not infringe upon the faith based values. We have since found out that that was an empty promise. The point of the debate is why should a faith based organization be required to provide certain health care services that are in contradiction to the faith based organization's tenets. For the Catholic Church, its position on contraception is based on the belief that life begins at conception and that most female contraceptives prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum onto the uterine wall. This position is long held. As I said in my original post, I will not argue this point with anyone as it is a matter of faith. I will not argue against your position as it is impossible to debate matters of faith. As far as the Baptists deciding not to sell pink bibles, that is their decision and I would like to hear what there position was on this decision. Personally, I think a "pink cover" to the bible cheapens the messages within.
Is 500 children supposed to be a bad thing?
There isn't anything straight about her talk. You lied, your cover story is blown and you are a disgrace. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/us/komen-foundation-urged-to-restore-planned-parenthood-funds.html?_r=1&hp
Only the fringe right are ignorant and foolish enough to drag women's health care in to their anti-abortion crusade. The Komen grant to PP went only for breast exams and breast cancer education. The fringe right knew this but pressed on in its righteous zeal to put PP out of business, despite the fact their actions would deny many low-income/unemployed women access to affordable/free breast cancer screenings. Yea, talk about cynical, the ends justify the means righteous BS.The end game. No more donations at retail check out lanes. No more sponsoring acquaintances for runs. I will donate directly to PP and make sure the donations have no restrictions on how they are used.
Any ad hominums you spew only makes me cling more tenaciously to my dislike for pp. As a former client, I have never experienced more degrading medical service. I suppose they think that if you're poor, you can't complain. You can be upset all you want about Komen (an organization I don't support in the slightest because of the stupid for the cure lawsuits), but I think their policy of not granting funds to organizations under investigation is a good one.
I think Nancy's hair needs to be investigated. No telling what's hiding in that hill.
I hope your wife(?) runs out of birth control that she got subsidized from PP and you end up with 500 children.
...you lost me at "we".
Not that you would actually read this, but the Dems have blocked every effort to defund pp http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/susan-g-komen-stops-planned-parenthood-funding-who-does-the-decision-hurt-more/2012/02/01/gIQAEvdLiQ_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop
The Catholic Church constantly applies great pressure to public and private organizations that stand in opposition to its dogma. Case in point -- go to the homepage of the Diane Rehm Show and listen to this morning's hour-long discussion about access to birth control thru Catholic employer healthcare insurance programs. And a big reason that Komen caved in December was the notification from the publishing arm of the Southern Baptists that they would no longer sell pink Bibles. Komen freaked when she realized how much pink Bible revenue would be lost.
I have a problem,how can you be pro life and stop funding breast exam to save life. How can a Church care more about egg then living beings.Something really wrong with that process.
Would this be the same Catholic Church that doesn't believe in divorce but made Newt Gingrich's first two marriages disappear?
Not so government funding was cut by Republicans in2011.
Social liberal, fiscal conservative, gun-owning, pro-choice, NRA member here I was also a SGK contributor up until right about now. My dollars will still go to charity, just not to SGK
If only 16% of SGK's money goes to research. Where does the rest of it go? So PP got cut off because it is a "pass through" facility that doesn't treat cancer, but it did use the money to fund mammograms. Aren't mammograms considered the best method for early detection of breast cancer?
Obviously, you have never been to the Texas lege.
Have you ever BEEN to a Planned Parenthood office? Have you ever? I did not know that stirrups and speculums were used by lobbyists!!
"Right-wingers" are pro life. That means we believe that life begins at conception. We are concerned about babies' lives. Is that really an awful thing? Considering that, can't you understand why we don't believe in PP's operation and don't believe it is really supporting women's health? You may disagree with me, but please don't say I'm full of BS because of those beliefs. I disagree with you and I think your viewpoint is dangerous for babies, but I would never say you are full of BS for your beliefs. I just think you are wrong, but that you really believe in what you are saying. It's called respect!
Disagree. It's not an "optics" thing, Phelps. Planned Parenthood didn't "politicize" women's health care. People who don't like Planned Parenthood politicized Planned Parenthood. Seriously. Have you ever been to a Planned Parenthood? Other than to protest, that is. I have. And I had to walk through people shouting epithets like "baby killer" to my then-girlfriend who was just getting her birth control pills. Try those "optics" on. I do agree that this latest move does not mean Komen is going to stop doing good work. Komen stopped doing good work long ago. The "optics" of pink buckets of KFC are far more telling of the problems with Komen than this latest fiasco. It ain't about women's health when the pink perfume you're selling is carcinogenic.
When they start only offering mammograms to wealthy, conservative women they can rebrand themselves as the "Teat Party." /sorry
He's in fine form today, isn't he?
Correct. However, disliking one Presidential policy does make you a racist...
Aww. People are going to have to pay for their own treatment now? Aww.
As far as I know the Catholic Church does not actively lobby against abortion providers. We make it plain and simple. Life begins at conception. We take this as a matter of faith. For those women who find themselves pregnant and do not wish to raise the child for whatever reason the Church offers a program to support the woman through pregnancy and will place the child with adoptive parents. The only significant advertising of this service is the sign in front of every single Church in the Dallas Diocese offering this service to all pregnant women. It is called "Project Gabriel". There is more information at http://www.prolifedallas.org/pages/gabriel_overview. I will not argue with anyone about when life begins. This is because my belief is a matter of faith and not science. If you believe that life begins at a different point in time from the time of conception to the time of birth, I will not debate it with you. I accept your definition of when life begins as being a matter of your faith. As far as the economics of the Komen Foundation, ~20% of funds raised going to their stated purpose is not only pathetic, it is shameful. Regardless of the politics, this is why I do not support the Komen Foundation.
According to some reports, only 16% of what they raise goes into research and testing. The Observer's excellent Jim Schutze has done a <a href="http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2012/02/a_stink_about_pink_there_a_bet.php">follow up post</a> with several links to previous Komen controversies (including their increasing focus on marketing at the expense of actual cancer research) as well as other organizations to donate to.
Proclamations from a watery tart are no basis for the formation of a government ... true political power derives from the masses ...
Like I'd click on a hoover link...
You can't expect rich folks to do charity for free.
Jugz for Jeezus
PP is a lobbying firm that sometimes performs abortions.
Where's that damn button?
PP isn't a political organization.
Disliking a single woman does not make somebody a misogynist...
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=farting%20preacher&tnr=21&vid=1579671421986&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D1579671421986%26id%3D8ed78b35ba7373aca4946482f2e96eeb%26bid%3DjH0d7YK2rkMGSQ%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dme2H7Ja93Wg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dme2H7Ja93Wg&sigr=11ap0cgom&newfp=1&tit=The+Farting+Preacher Something must be wrong This is what I saw when I tried the link.
Meaning, the secularists keep it for themselves.
Damn, that is funny! You conservatives sure know how to have a good laugh.
Wait until people learn that the Ambassador pulls down more than $400,000 a year for her work.
This charity is no different than country club dues, as it's given to the church. Secularists, on the other hand, don't have the overhead, and give directly to the end users.
She has changed her story again on Andrea Mitchell's show - now she sys it is because they are a "pass through" facility and that they don't "TREAT" CANCER... I am sure you can find it on MSNBC.com. Somebody should "investigate" SGK - then they will be in violation of their own "rule"...
Never another penny to Susan G. Komen EVER! What a coward.
The Democrats have strongarmed government funding for PP. Wonder how they'll get a private organization to continue funding?
Your citation is the perfect example of using soft, survey data to support a narrative (i.e. that christianists are just all around better folks).
Just read somewhere that it is around, or below, 20%
PP provides breast screenings/exams just like you get in the doctor's office. Their patients are younger and therefore not in much need for mammograms, but of course in need of screenings and physician-performed breast exams. PP is the only doctor many women see yearly. They charge based on what women can afford. PP saves lives and prevents unintended pregnancies. They also counsel women who are ready on how to plan a pregnancy for the healthiest outcome, like prenatal vitamin prescriptions and how long to stay off the pill before trying. I know because they helped me when my husband and I were trying to get pregnant with our son. I WILL NEVER GIVE TO KOMEN AGAIN.
honestly, I don't think that's true in this case. there are a lot of otherwise reasonable, middle of the road women who don't like the decision. look, Komen can do whatever it wants but it isn't allowed to control what people think. if they don't like the choice that was made, they can rant about it all they want.
Apparently it's 16%, according to the Sacramento Bee. That's shameful.
What % of receipts does Koman actually pass through?
What % of receipts does her organization give to actual research?
Wait until Komen launches it's "No Free Mammogram Unless You Love Jesus" campaign.
Only the fringe left thinks that Komen has done anything wrong...their blood lust will never be quenched.
who is asking for free money? PP uses the money to provide services, mostly to people who can't otherwise afford them. religious charities get plenty of money from the government to help them spread their message while they deliver services. I'd say that's more "free" money than what PP is asking for. I agree that people need to get over the Komen thing. Komen doesn't have to support anyone it doesn't agree with. They're smart people and they had to have done the math and figured out that this was the superior course of action for their end goal (I'm sure it came down to money, and the decision that increased fundraising was more important than the people served by PP). every charity cannot be all things to all people. that's why donating to them is optional. I guess a lot of people are just upset because they thought Komen's values matched their own. find another charity you CAN support and move on with your life.
Right, it's only science if it matches your narrative.
you forgot the "quotes" around the word science. Not saying you're wrong, but last I checked, Policy Review was not a peer-reviewed scientific journal (nor shy about thier conservative outlook)
The sticking point is that being associated with PP (a lobbying organization that also provides abortions) was already politicizing Komen. They were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't. (It was a tin-eared decision to ever start associating with them, but that ship has sailed.) So given the option of, even under your assumptions, pissing off 60% of your patrons by giving their money to an organization they consider to be evil or pissing off the other 40%, you keep the 60. Seriously. All of the politicization is coming from the pro-PP side. No one is arguing that Komen is going to stop doing good work. No one is arguing that PP is going to have any problem funding its primary mission. The only real complaint is that people don't like the optics of it.
Brinker's performance is revolting. What a con artist, droning on about "trust" while just having transparently put on display that she can't be trusted with the transparent lie that her actions weren't due to her right wing politics. And she's calling others "scurrilous"? Brinker and Komen need to be investigated, not Planned Parenthood. Hopefully decent people will withdraw support from these politicos masquerading as good Samariatans and channel donations elsewhere. What a sad disappointment. Far too much is being politicized in this country.
This story says that secularist give less than religious people, probably true. The weakness of it is that is has no causal nexus between secularism and the democratic party beyond that authors belief. To quote him : "differences in charitable behavior are not particularly apparent between left and right" To be clear, I suspect you are right that if you dug into Komen's records you'd find more money from folks calling themselves R than D. I do not think it is anywhere near as stark a contrast in the rest of the US as it is likely to be in our state. So, even if it is 60/40, then 40% of your donors now think you turned a once purely charitable organization into a political organization. That is a stupid move, in my opinion.
What a boob.
Link to a sensible article (from my POV) on this hoopla: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/02/02/komen-break-with-planned-parenthood/#more-782594 PP does not provide mammograms. Plain & simple. I have looked at their grant paperwork from a local perspective as well as their annual review (which is anything but thorough and credible). If people were REALLY concerned about women receiving low-cost or no-cost mammograms then they would support UT Southwestern, Methodist and Parkland plus rally Baylor to start providing mammograms again.
Nope, just science: http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/6577
Phelps - that is your Texas perspective showing. In Cali and NY and many other blue states, the politics of the people, even the wealthy, is quite different than the red wash of this state. Additionally, I think to a large degree contributions to this organization tend to be controlled by/contributed by women. I suspect they are likely to be unhappy about removing women's care from the poor regardless of party beliefs. For the health of poor women in this country, I hope that I am right and you are wrong. A substantial change in the gifting to Komen is the only hope in getting them to reconsider their new mission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ as interpreted by the religious right in America in 2012.
I believe the same could be said of the comments for Komen. We are all just creatures of the memeosphere, it would appear...
I still think disqus needs a [don't like] button. Until then...
Is that 60s Cesar Romero, 80s Jack Nicholson, or 00s Heath Leger?
And the people causing the dispute are also against a solution to the healthcare problem. (The solution being single-payer Medicare for All)
Wow, I'm noticing that all the comments against Komen all seem to be using the same dozen or so buzzwords and making the same points. Smells like... astroturf.
It's funny how as soon as you show a leftie a woman they think is right leaning, they turn into a raging misogynist.
They aren't, and still aren't. PP is a political organization that, frankly, was dragging them down. As long as they were associated with PP, they were going to be politicized. A year from now, this will be old news. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you any more free money." WHAT?!? YOU MUST HATE ME! I DESERVE SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
The problem with your theory is that charity largely comes from the right. Giant corporate grants aren't going to stop coming in (Komen is too big a name now) and you don't get a significant amount of money from leftie individuals in the first place.
http://www.aul.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/PPReport_FULL.pdf
"And you dudes that comment on Chick issues are damn fools or light in your loafers." Max, you just did, so which are you? Do you think you sprang forth from a lake? These are human issues, not women's issues.
The slope into politics is slippery and steep. Now that Komen has gone from a charity to an arm of the religious right, they will lose many supporters and many millions of dollars. In states less radically right than Texas, lots of the monied folks who generously support this once great organization, will now send their money elsewhere. How did Komen's leadership get sold on this new direction that goes against the basic fabric of the organization? It is pitiful that the person who convinced this once great organization to sell its soul is an intelligent, influential woman. How is taking away medical care that helps prevent breast cancer something that God, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, or any other religious person supports?
Don't know who wrote the above Presser but it is pure bullshit. Koman didn't have a damn thing to do with the Pink Ribbon, it is the creation of Evelyn Lauder whom passed on last November. And you dudes that comment on Chick issues are damn fools or light in your loafers.
Perhaps she is a two bagger. One bag over her head and one over yours in case hers breaks.
Unfortunately this will make it much more difficult for many corporations to work with the Komen organization. They don't want to get into this political mess and can easily move their efforts someplace else. The hiring of a political activist who is strongly anti-abortion sends a much stronger message than the video. Actions speak louder than words read from a teleprompter.
You're seeing the impact of Komen being run by all the same right wing morons that are generally screwing up urban Dallas with visions of Trinity toll roads, walmarts on lower greenville, schools to sanitize deep ellum and Fair Park staying in the toilet. I sent Komen a note telling them I will never, ever, donate a single red cent to their organization again.
Just made a donation to Planned Parenthood and sent a note Komen Corp that I will no longer support them.
Since when did the Komen Foundation become a political organization? I had always thought they had womens health as their primary goal, not politics. "New granting strategies" is code for adopting a political agenda. Maybe Komen is the organization that needs to be investigated. Have they started funding anti-abortion efforts with contributions? Something seems to be missing here. Good luck in the future.
the lady in the above photo has her hair tied back so tightly it turns her face into this perpetual grimace. wonder if she should loosen it up, let it hang out, get stoned and get laid.
No support for Komen any more from me. Brinker should step down as she is a liablity.
Thanks for the link, Rob. Interesting reading.
a little white face paint -- a dead ringer for the Joker. just sayin'
The sad thing is that in the most prosperous country on earth women have to rely on charities to obtain basic health care. This whole dispute points to a major flaw in our helathcare system.
Komen is a pass-through organization, meaning they accept donated funds, then pass them on to the actual non-profits doing the work. That is, after they pay their own bills, their executives' salaries, pay for marketing, advertising, and oh yeah, all the pink-washing. I am a serious runner, but I have never purchased Komen-branded products and I never will. The marketing of breast cancer as a fashion statement has always disgusted me. And now this? Well, a leopard can't change its spots.
This is really sad. Komen has become bigger than its cause and that's really disheartening.
This decision has permanently scarred the reputation and mission of The Komen Foundation. Nancy Brinker's refusal to answer questions directly rebrands her as a coward. Not a good legacy. This is an organization created by women to support women that has now abandoned women. Numerous local affiliates are already disassociating themselves from national. Shameful. Komen no longer deserves the support of women, financial or otherwise. And the top-tier corporate funders of Komen - among them Bank of America, Lowes, Oracle -- should end their support now and move it to organizations that do not cave to the Southern Baptist and Catholic Churches.