Komen denies cut in Planned Parenthood funding was political

As backlash grows, Planned Parenthood reports increasing contributions to help cover the lost funding.

The Washington Post: Komen Gives New Explanation For Cutting Funds To Planned Parenthood
Komen had said the decision was the result of newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations under investigation -; affecting Planned Parenthood because of an inquiry by a Republican congressman. On Thursday, Komen President Elizabeth Thompson told reporters that the funding decision was unrelated to the investigation into whether Planned Parenthood was illegally using federal funds to pay for abortions. Komen founder Nancy Brinker said the organization wants to support groups that directly provide breast health services, such as mammograms. She noted that Planned Parenthood was providing only mammogram referrals (Sun, Kliff and Aizenman, 2/2).

Politico: Susan G. Komen Fights To Contain Planned Parenthood Damage
If this was supposed to be damage control, Susan G. Komen for the Cure proved Thursday that it has a lot to learn. On a day when the breast cancer charity's top official made the rounds with the national media, insisting the organization's decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood wasn't political, the firestorm only got worse. Top Democrats piled on; the head of the Komen chapter in Los Angeles quit; and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving a $250,000 matching gift to Planned Parenthood (Nocera and Nather, 2/2).

USA Today: Komen Says Planned Parenthood Plans Are Mischaracterized
The founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure said Thursday that there had been a "gross mischaracterization" about the group's controversial decision to stop funding breast exams at Planned Parenthood. … Brinker denied that the decision to not renew grants to groups under investigation was directed specifically at Planned Parenthood. She said other institutions also have been affected by Komen's policy (Szabo, 2/3).

The New York Times: Outcry Grows Fiercer After Funding Cut By Cancer Group
The nation's leading breast cancer advocacy organization confronted the growing furor Thursday over its decision to largely end its decades-long partnership with Planned Parenthood, with rising dissension in its own ranks and a roiling anger on the Internet showing the power of social media to harness protest. All seven California affiliates of the organization, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, released a statement saying they opposed its decision (Preston and Harris, 2/2).

NPR: As Komen Defends Itself, Planned Parenthood Rakes In Substitute Funds
Leaders of the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure tried in vain Thursday to contain the controversy stemming from its decision to end its grants to Planned Parenthood. But it's becoming clearer that Planned Parenthood has the upper hand in the battle (Rovner, 2/2).

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: Komen Withdrawl Of Funds Leaves Handel In Spotlight
Praise and scorn rained down on Karen Handel Thursday, as both foes and supporters of abortion rights credited the former Georgia secretary of state for the Susan G. Komen Foundation's rift with Planned Parenthood. Those in the pro-life camp lauded Handel, who joined Komen last year as its vice president for public policy, for withdrawing funding for Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screening programs. Pro-choice supporters targeted the former Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate with their ire -- often expressed as sarcastic thank-yous after Planned Parenthood announced that the dust-up had brought in a one-day flood of more than $650,000 in donations (Leslie, 2/2).

The Dallas Morning News: CEO Defends Decision As Backlash Grows Over Komen Move To Cut Planned Parenthood Funding
Facing mounting backlash, Susan G. Komen for the Cure responded Thursday to critics who accused the nation's top breast-cancer fundraiser of caving to anti-abortion pressures when it cut Planned Parenthood's funding. "It's a mischaracterization of our goals, our mission and everything we do," said Nancy Brinker, founder and chief executive officer of the Dallas-based foundation. Anti-abortion groups have taken credit for Komen's decision, saying they lobbied for seven years to stop Planned Parenthood's funding (Jacobson and Farwell, 2/2).

The Wall Street Journal: Nonprofits' Backers Mobilize
One of the nation's leading breast-cancer charities grappled Thursday with the fallout from its decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates. Opponents of the move organized online pressure against Susan G. Komen for the Cure and some of its corporate sponsors. But the charity said it had seen a jump in donations since the decision became public Tuesday. Meantime, Planned Parenthood supporters, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced donations to the women's health group (Mathews, Radnofsky and West, 2/3).

McClatchy: Komen Official Defends Decision To Cut Funding To Planned Parenthood
As backlash grew against the decision by Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to cease awarding grants to Planned Parenthood, Komen officials went public, after two days of silence, to try to manage the uproar. In a Thursday conference call with the media, Komen founder and chief executive Nancy Brinker said the decision to end 16 of 19 grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates was because of policy changes intended to improve how grantees are selected. The decision had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood's position as an abortion provider, she said (Roan, 2/2).

Reuters: Bloomberg Pledges $250,000 To Planned Parenthood
Billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged on Thursday to give $250,000 of his own money to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America after breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure withdrew funding for the group. ... "Politics have no place in health care. Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care," Bloomberg said in a statement (2/2).

Bloomberg: Komen Says Criticism Unfounded As Planned Parenthood Replaces Lost Funding
Susan G. Komen for the Cure sought to blunt criticism of its decision to end much of its breast-cancer funding for Planned Parenthood clinics while the health network rode a wave of appeals to replace the money.  Planned Parenthood Federation of American received $400,000 from 6,000 donors as of Feb. 1. More pledges were made yesterday though the group didn't have an updated amount, said Shawn Rhea, an organization spokeswoman (Lopatto and Edney, 2/3).

The Philadelphia Inquirer:  Komen Foundation Needs Cure For Backlash Over Planned Parenthood Cutoff
The Susan G. Komen foundation, a behemoth in breast cancer philanthropy and creator of the immensely successful Race for the Cure brand, is battling a public-relations debacle. Within hours of Tuesday's news that Komen would stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood for breast health services, donations began pouring in to the family planning organization while pink-ribbon crusaders vowed to cut Komen off…. Two dozen Democratic U.S. senators, led by New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg, on Thursday sent a letter urging Komen to reconsider, saying "it would be tragic if any woman . . . lost access to these potentially lifesaving services because of a politically motivated attack" (McCullough, 2/3).

The Fiscal Times: Planned Parenthood Funders Strike Back At Komen
High-profile policymakers, advocates, and breast cancer survivors who once sported pink ribbons will do so no more.  Outraged by the decision of The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to yank funds from Planned Parenthood, many supporters are closing their wallets to the breast cancer treatment and research group and funneling money instead to Planned Parenthood. As an indication of the intensity of feeling, donors contributed $650,000 to Planned Parenthood over the last 24 hours – providing almost enough to replace the lost Komen funding for one year, Planned Parenthood officials said on Thursday (Hirsch, 2/2).