Muddying the Pink Ribbon

By ANDREW ROSENTHAL...from the NYTimes of February 2, 2012

I know that political forces on the right are determined to restrict access to abortion and to vilify the legal procedure, even if it means diminishing the availability of other health services that help women and children. But, naively I suppose, I’m still shocked by the lengths they’ll go to get their way.

The latest example is the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s decision to sever its relationship with Planned Parenthood. Komen is the nation’s largest breast cancer advocacy organization—they’re responsible for the pink ribbons you see on yogurt and tons of other products—and Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider. Until recently, Komen provided grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening. This was an extremely effective partnership: Over the years, Komen’s money helped Planned Parenthood offer screenings to some 170,000 women.

The Komen foundation claims its decision was driven by an investigation started by Rep. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican, into Planned Parenthood’s use of federal Medicaid funds.

A spokesman for the foundation said it feared that its donors might be offended by its ties to an organization under investigation. That’s just not believable – unless Komen has decided to focus its fundraising exclusively on conservatives.

Planned Parenthood, like any organization that receives federal Medicaid dollars, has come under investigation dozens of times. It has been found in violation of Medicaid accounting rules and sometimes fined. There also have been questions as to whether it complied with state reporting laws when under-age girls came in seeking abortions.

Komen never expressed worry about previous complaints. So what changed? A right-wing anti-abortion lobbying organization, Americans United for Life, has been cheering on Mr. Stearn and tarring Planned Parenthood’s commitment to reproductive freedom. Could this decision also have something to do with the fact that Karen Handel, a Republican who ran for governor of Georgia in 2010, joined Komen as its president in January?

To me, there is no doubt that Komen is taking sides in the abortion debate. And that’s going to change the look of that pink ribbon, which is already prominently displayed on the website of Americans United for Life. (My emphasis)

Abortions, it bears repeating, are safe and relatively rare. About 2 percent of American women have one a year. It is also a completely legal procedure. But having lost the legal battle, anti-abortion forces decided that they would use political influence and intimidation to stop women from exercising their constitutional right to privacy. In the process, they have not only made it harder for women to have abortions, but also to get birth control counseling, prenatal care, and now cancer screenings.