I'll forever stand up with Komen for a cure

Something that I've occasionally run into when soliciting donations for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, or when talking about my work with them, has been the fact that they fund breast health services at Planned Parenthood clinics.

Catholics see "Planned Parenthood" and automatically associate it with abortion. If these people actually did their research, they would find out that

Approximately 20 out of 125 Komen Affiliates provide restricted grants to Planned Parenthood clinics for vital breast health services that could otherwise be unavailable to some women. When a Komen Affiliate provides a grant to Planned Parenthood, in many cases it is the only source of free or low-cost women's health screening services in the area. (source)

Let me back up a second and tell you where the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization came from.

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality of care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested more than $1.2 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. (source)

Now, I will debunk some other myths that Catholics have believed about the Komen/Planned Parenthood partnership.

"But what about the connection between abortion or miscarriage and an increased risk of breast cancer?

Scientific evidence in the U.S. and around the world does not support the conclusion that induced abortion or miscarriage raises the risk of breast cancer. The latest and most authoritative study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute in 2003. The conclusion that abortion is not linked to an increase in breast cancer risk was considered to be "well established" (the highest level of certainty) by more than 100 of the world's experts in pregnancy and breast cancer brought together by the NCI. (source)

"Why do you freely give Planned Parenthood money, and how can you make sure the money is going where it should?"

Komen does not simply give their money away, Planned Parenthood must apply for a community grant like everyone else:

All Komen Affiliate grant applications are solicited by an open request for proposals and are reviewed by an independent review panel that makes recommendations to the Affiliate's board of directors. Grant recipients must provided detailed reports to the Komen Affiliate at least bi-annually. Komen and its Affiliates do not provide any funding for abortions or for any activities outside the scope of our promise to end breast cancer forever. (source)

"Why give Planned Parenthood any money at all? Can't women get breast health information and mammograms from their doctor?"

While Komen Affiliates provide funds to pay for screening, education and treatment programs in dozens of communities, in some areas, the only place that poor, uninsured or under-insured women can receive these services are through programs run by Planned Parenthood. These facilities serve rural women, poor women, Native American women, women of color, and the un- and under-insured. As part of our financial arrangements, we monitor our grantees twice a year to be sure they are spending the money in line with our agreements, and we are assured that Planned Parenthood uses these funds only for breast health education, screening and treatment programs. (source)

"It is still unethical for me, as a Catholic, to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure in any way."

In 2009, two Catholic ethicists - Ron Hamel, Ph.D. and Michael Panicola, Ph.D. - examined the moral implications of our funding decision. They concluded that it was morally permissible for the church to be involved with Komen in light of its funding agreements with Planned Parenthood: "The fact that some Komen affiliates, at times, provide funding to Planned Parenthood specifically and solely for breast health services cannot on the face of it be construed as wrongdoing. The good that Komen does and the harm that would come to so many women if Komen ceased to exist or ceased to be funded would seem to be a sufficiently proportionate reason" for Catholics to support our funding decisions. (source)

For as long as I live, I will continue to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, as well as volunteer and work with the organization itself. The work that they do is saving lives every day, and I know that one day researchers will find a cure, thanks to the hard work that Susan G. Komen for the Cure does.



I will end this blog with a quote from Norman Roberts, a pro-life Catholic supporter of Komen:

The church must do its work in a sinful world. I'm no theologian, but we rub elbows with sinners all the time. We are all sinners. We must from time to time work with less-than-perfect people and organizations. Komen isn't even the villain in this morality play. If we can't work with them, then we can we work with? (source)

Ok I lied...I'll end this blog with an excerpt from the words that are spoken at the end of every Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure:

Now turn your attention to the center stage. Just three days ago, we stood at the opening ceremony looking ahead to the sixty miles that lay between us and this moment.

And though there were times when the strain of each step challenged your resolve to continue -- you did not waiver from your goal.

With each mile, you evoked the memory of those we've loved...and cherished...and lost to breast cancer.

Here with us today are those who have triumphed, bearing flags that signify their victory.

They exemplify courage, inspirational patience, and unyielding optimism. They are with us now because of their refusal to surrender to a diagnosis.

The importance of that achievement can never be lessened by the passage of time, will never be forgotten.

Our survivors stand with us as we mark the end of this 3-Day journey. Together, we show the world the time has come for breast cancer to be brought to its knees.

We now raise the final flag of the Seattle 3-Day for the Cure.

Like mountain climbers who plant their flags to symbolize their attainment of the summit, this flag is proof that we are here, living, breathing, shouting with every step:

We will never give up!

We will never give up!

WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP!