Komen Foundation forced to reverse decision

Women's health care should be a priority, not politics.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation cut funding for Planned Parenthood health centers that provide breast cancer screenings and education for low-income families.

Karen Handel, the new vice president of the Susan G. Komen Foundation had publicly stated her opposition to abortion, a service that is provided at some Planned Parenthood clinics.

Handel stated on her campaign blog that she "does not support the mission of Planned Parenthood."

The Foundation's spokesperson Leslie Aun said the funding cut was because of the charity's new funding criteria of ending grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities.

Planned Parenthood was under investigation for using taxpayer's money to pay for abortions.

Among 2,000 organizations, Planned Parenthood was the only grantee whose funding was cut because of the new policy.

It was believed by Planned Parenthood that the Susan G. Komen Foundation had succumb to the beliefs and pressures from anti-abortion activists.

The Foundation later apologized for its actions and continued funding.

The president and founder Nancy Brinker said that cuts were not intentionally done for political reasons or to pinpoint Planned Parenthood as the problem.

She [Brinker] said the organization wanted to respect their donors by not funding Planned Parenthood while they were under investigation.    

The criteria will be changed so that it is clear that "investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political" in order for funding to be cut.

Since the incident, many donors and organizations reacted and donated $650,000 within 24 hours of the foundation's decision.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is an organization about saving lives.

For them to cut funding only for Planned Parenthood shows that there was intent to do so.

Views of sensitive subjects such as abortion should reflect those of the organization and not just the vice president.

With the rough economy women's health care should be a priority.

The decision to cut funds was made irrationally without the thought of how women will be able to get proper health care and treatment when they can't afford it.

When making such a drastic decision, the president and vice president of the Susan G. Komen Foundation should have thought about the message they were sending.

Their organization is all about giving support to women, but what would happen to innocent women barely crossed their minds?

According to their website, the Foundation fights for the screening and treatment programs that save lives.

For the Susan G. Komen Foundation it is a lesson learned.

Before making a decision this big, they should think about the families that will be affected by it.