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Updated Tuesday, 2:10 p.m. PST
It didn’t take long for the Komen Foundation to realize they made a bad decision when they cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. Less than a week later the decision was reversed following a nationwide uproar that left the foundation thinking, “WTF did we do?” now we see who's taking the fall...
Fairly new vice-president of the Komen Foundation, anti-gay, anti-choice conservative Karen Handel, stepped down from her post today. Many have attributed the foundation’s indiscretion to Handel’s inability to leave her politics out of the nonprofit office.
Check out her resignation letter in Forbes.
While public contributions poured in for Planned Parenthood amidst the controversy, we wouldn’t advise Handel hold her breath for retirement donations. But hey, Chick-fil-A might just have an opening in their drive-thru.
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Updated Friday, 1:25 p.m. EST
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has apologized and reversed its decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.
Reads a just-released statement in part by the Komen Foundation:
"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants."
The Family Research Council is absolutely incensed about the reversal and has asked its followers to demand that Komen refunds any donations that were made this week following its initial Planned Parenthood decision.
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(Original post)
Politics and non-profits are about as ick a combo as a hot boy in Capri pants, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation learned that lesson when they faced disapproval for announcing they would no longer fund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood, while known widely for helping ladies get rid of an unwanted bun in the oven, actually spends the Komen cash on breast cancer education and screenings for young women. So how did the public respond to this latest outrage?
According to the Washington Post, The Komen Foundation discontinued their donation because of a new national policy barring financial support for any organization that is under government investigation. In September a House committee began looking into Planned Parenthood’s compliance with federal regulations on funding abortions, thanks to Florida Republican Cliff Stearns
Planned Parenthood isn’t buying it, claiming that the now corrupt foundation is honoring the wishes of anti-abortion activists, not to mention having a brand new VP who happens to be a conservative with a blurred vision of where politics comes into play with such organizations.
The response has been overwhelming as donations from private sources has almost made up for what Komen gave, totaling around $650,000 in just a couple days.
Tait Sye, a spokesman for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said “People respond powerfully when they see politics interfering with women’s health,” Sye said. “That’s why we’ve seen a tremendous outpouring of support.”
While some have decided to drop the Komen Foundation from their donation list this year, others still advocate the organization's important work in women’s health, even with this right-wing faux-pas. What’s your Instinct? Has Komen lost all Kred? (Yeah, we know how to spell cred. It's a play on words, people. Go with it.)
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