Komen Foundation & Abortion Flap

Letter to The Toledo Blade re: Komen response to Bishop Leonard Blair
To the editor:

I was dismayed and disappointed by Komen for the Cure’s public response to Bishop Blair’s claims that Komen was financially and ideologically linked to Planned Parenthood.

While it would have been perfectly appropriate—and correct—to issue a statement that the Bishop was wrong about these links, it was not necessary for the Komen writers to go on at length about how close their organization is to the Church and how distant they are from women’s reproductive health decisions.

I’m confident that everyone is aware that there is no scientifically valid evidence for a causal relationship between abortion and breast cancer. Still, I did find, when I worked in an abortion clinic in Northwest Ohio, that some abortion patients are breast cancer patients/survivors. More than once, women told me that their treatment for or survival of breast cancer were factors in their decisions not to carry a pregnancy to term at that particular time.

The Komen Headquarters statement mentions their commitment to “the least among us” and “those who need help”; apparently, they do not count women whose breast cancer makes it difficult for them to carry a pregnancy to term among those to whom they are committed.

In their haste to appease an ideological bully, the Komen Foundation has effectively devalued the health care decisions of these breast cancer patients/survivors.

Way to throw sisters under the bus, Komen. What a shame.
Jeannie Ludlow, Ph.D.
Charleston, IL (formerly of Bowling Green, OH)

Statement from Komen Foundation (NW Ohio)

Statement from Susan G. Komen for the Cure Headquarters:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure has had long and very positive partnerships with Catholic hospitals and other faith-based hospitals and community health organizations. Just this year, more than 200 Komen grants have been awarded to Catholic hospitals and other faith-based organizations to support programs that provide breast cancer screenings for low-income or uninsured women, assistance through treatment, financial aid, and emotional and social support for women and men affected by this disease.
 
In our 29 years, Komen for the Cure has never funded embryonic stem cell research. We remain focused on our mission to save lives and end breast cancer forever through our research program and through our Affiliate partnerships.
 
We are grateful for the partnership with Catholic organizations and hospitals and the very real impact they continue to make for women and families facing this disease.  Our missions are very similar: to provide access to medical care for the least among us.  These organizations and Komen are often the only lifeline to those who need help.
 
As part of our ongoing effort to meet our mission, we will continue our dialogue with our partners including representatives of the Catholic Church and other faith organizations to fulfill our mission of ending breast cancer.

Thank you for your continued support,
Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Northwest Ohio