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02.07.12 - 12:59 AM
Fight Like A Girl
For now, the final word on the Susan Komen/Planned Parenthood debacle goes to the inimitable, 80-something-year-old Helen of Margaret and Helen, who is some pissed. She is "tired of pink razors," and feels confident she speaks for millions of women "when I say that from now on if you push us, we will push back."
"Exactly what women’s health clinics did they think we women were using for years before we started racing for a cure? Did they think that the millions of us who had gone to Planned Parenthood ....weren’t aware of the services we were provided? Trust me. When you go to a place and have a doctor poke around your hoo-ha, you pay attention."
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9 Comments so far
Show AllThe Komen Foundation cut off more than their own nose. I am not sure the Right to Life groups will offset the losses the foundation will incur from this misguided attempt to curry "favour" with the right.
At one time Planned Parenthood was all there was for many women to take care of their sexual health. The 1% (OK, maybe 5%) may have had gynecologists, but many women would have been without family planning and screening services. Once again I reject charities like the Komen foundation where diseases create a hobby for socialites and jobs for a few marketers. That is a poor excuse for a health system.
"Once again I reject charities like the Komen foundation where diseases create a hobby for socialites and jobs for a few marketers. That is a poor excuse for a health system." -- jclientelle
Well said! And, I agree with you.
I still remember when Planned Parenthood was instituted in Lincoln, NE. A friend of mine and I used to volunteer at PP, and we picked up women from all over the city (in our cars) so that they had access to health services at Planned Parenthood. Public transportation didn't serve the needs of most of these women.
I, myself, due to policies that continue to pay women less than males, used Planned Parenthood for my health needs. At that time, Planned Parenthood provided a very reasonable sliding scale for their services. And, if a woman couldn't pay, she didn't have to pay. Planned Parenthood did NOT deny services to anyone who entered their doors.
Breast cancer is NOT a "pink ribbon!"
"For now" is right. Unless the people who changed the policy are fired, this is nothing more than a tactical retreat for Komen.
I saw a news item today that the newly hired VP at the Komen foundation, the one who ran for governor of Georgia on a platform of defunding Planned Parenthood, has resigned. It's good that they threw her under the bus, but they should have known better to hire her in the first place.
That's BIG News. And very good news!
Here it is - the Controversial Vice President of the Komen Foundation has resigned:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/komen-vice-president-karen-handel-resigns/2012/02/07/gIQAYP0WwQ_blog.html?wprss=rss_homepage
"However, she said the decision-making process began before she joined the organization last year, and the policy change was thoroughly vetted at every level within the organization and unanimously agreed to by the board at a November meeting."
"During an unsuccessful bid for governor of Georgia in 2010, Handel ran on a platform of defunding Planned Parenthood. Several former Komen employees have said that Handel was a driving force behind Komen’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood."
“Questions about the issue of our involvement with Planned Parenthood significantly ramped up at the time Komen decided to hire Karen,” said John Hammerly, a former senior communications advisor at Komen, who left the Foundation in August 2011."
"In her resignation letter, Handel, who began working for Komen in January 2011, said that “the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization,” and that the de-funding decision was not based on “anyone’s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy.”
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So, still scary.
"Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy.”
They did a really good job on both counts. Komen has totally destroyed its credibility. It might have been better if they'd simply come out and told the truth; instead it's lies on lies.
You go Helen! And all feisty women like her. The Dominator culture is dying and it's about damned time. Equality and empathy for all humanity AND nature.
I really enjoyed that read. Good job Margaret!