The news that the Susan G. Komen for a Cure Foundation, America's largest charity to fight breast cancer, will no longer fund Planned Parenthood's free and low-cost breast cancer screenings for millions of women is being met with outrage by pro-choice advocates across the country.
The foundation has cited an investigation into Planned Parenthood by Florida Republican Representative Cliff Stearns as the reason for pulling nearly $1,000,000 in funding for breast cancer screenings. Komen says the organization's new rules cut off grants to any group being investigated by authorities at the local, state or federal level. Stearns began his inquiry last fall to determine whether Planned Parenthood uses federal money to fund abortions, which it is forbidden to do.
Barbara A. Zdravecky, president/CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, says she's saddened that politics have gotten in the way of women's health care. Planned Parenthood says more than 90 percent of its health care is preventative, including breast cancer screenings, birth control, and prevention sexually transmitted diseases.
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.