If you’ve got a lot of Twitter and Facebook friends who are American feminists, you’re probably hearing/reading a lot of about how the Susan G. Komen Foundation will no longer be supporting Planned Parenthood because they provide abortions. Their Senior V.P. does not support PP’s mission at all.
Abortion services constitute approximately 3% of what they do. The rest is largely health care services, including contraception (another hot-button issue, which just boggles my 2012 mind), gynaecological exams and, get this, breast cancer screenings, for women from lower income brackets, who could not afford to seek medical assistance elsewhere. I’m pretty sure Susan G. Komen herself would have been pretty in favour of this.
Why would the foundation do this? Because of pressure from within and without, including a group that recalled pink Bibles, used in fundraising, because some of the money from their sale might have gone to PP through its ties with the Foundation (which wasn’t the case, BTW).
I’ve been pro-choice my whole life. Basically, anyone’s uterus is their own damned business. Abortion is never, EVER an easy choice and the Susan G. Komen Foundation should have no say in the decision. So, if you are an American who supports women’s health with a few extra dollars to spend, maybe share it with Planned Parenthood. They are doing the practical work in women’s health and need your help more than hypocritical, pink-tinged foundations do now.
As a point of interest, are men het up about this too? Because they really should be, and more often. This isn’t just a feminist issue, but a human one. Men have lost their mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, sisters, friends to a seriously ugly disease that gets a lot of hype, but, it seems, not as much help as it could and should be fucking angry. I hope we start hearing more from them too.
I don’t know where this comic is from originally, but to paraphrase Leslie Knope, it makes me feel a lot of feelings.
Finally, go read so more about this elsewhere. I’m just angry. These people are informed.:
Breast Cancer Action is pissed.
Daily Kos looks at Komen’s Political Agenda.
Jezebel looks at how the Susan G. Komen Foundation lost their way.
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Edited to add that this is my 101st day in this daily blogging challenge. I don’t remember even 1/5 of what I wrote, but I’m pretty amazed that I made it this far.
The Atlantic has some pretty good articles about what’s been going on, including several people quitting over Komen’s decision.
Yep! Sorry, were linked on Facebook page, not here. Here’s one about their top health advisor resigning: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/02/top-susan-g-komen-official-resigned-over-planned-parenthood-cave-in/252405/