LIFE DIGEST: Evidence continues to show Komen supports Planned Parenthood
- Apr 22, 2008 - 1
Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading fundraising organization for breast cancer research, gave more than $700,000 to Planned Parenthood during the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to a group that monitors the country’s leading abortion provider.
Komen chapters gave $711,485 to 25 Planned Parenthood affiliates from April 2005 through March 2006, Stop Planned Parenthood (STOPP) International reported April 9.
The documentation of Komen’s funding of Planned Parenthood provided further support for calls for pro-life advocates to refuse to participate in events that benefit Komen.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis reiterated just such a position in March based on:
- Komen’s policy permitting its affiliates to provide grants to Planned Parenthood chapters;
- Komen’s endorsement of stem cell research that destroys embryos;
- Komen’s denial of a link between abortion and breast cancer.
Eighty percent of epidemiological studies in the last 50 years have shown abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, according to the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer.
Planned Parenthood said in its 2005-06 report its affiliates performed 9,900 more abortions and 81,500 fewer breast exams in 2005 than in 2004, the St. Louis Archdiocese reported.
“The fact that Komen affiliates give money to Planned Parenthood contradicts Komen’s claim that it works to end breast cancer,” Jim Sedlak of STOPP told LifeNews.com. “This is ridiculous and must stop.”
The Catholic dioceses of Phoenix, Ariz., and Charleston, S.C., reportedly have also discouraged participation in Komen fundraising events.
Komen’s best known fundraisers are its five-kilometer runs/walks in cities across the country. More than 1 million people participate each year in the runs/walks.
Planned Parenthood’s affiliates provided more than 289,000 abortions during calendar year 2006, according to its latest report.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time during the 2006-07 fiscal year. Of its latest yearly revenue, $336.7 million came in government grants and contracts.
Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, urged Americans to support a congressional effort to eliminate family planning funding of Planned Parenthood.
“It is outrageous that Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider, continues to reach into the pocket of the American taxpayer to the tune of 336 million dollars per annum,” Land said.
Oklahoma legislators override veto of ultrasound bill
The Oklahoma legislature convincingly overrode a veto April 17 to enact what a national pro-life organization described as the best ultrasound law in the country.
The Oklahoma Senate voted 37-11 and the House of Representatives 81-15 to overturn the veto of Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. The Senate easily achieved the required two-thirds majority despite being equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, according to the Tulsa World.
The new version of Oklahoma’s ultrasound law requires a medical worker to perform an ultrasound on a woman seeking an abortion, display the image of the unborn child and explain the sonogram, according to the Tulsa World. The mother is not required to view the image.
“By strengthening the ultrasound provision of their law, the Oklahoma legislature has created the strongest, most protective ultrasound law in the nation,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, state legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). “They are doing everything possible to ensure that a mother is given the opportunity to see her unborn child in real-time and learn all the facts before making the life and death decision of abortion.”
Oklahoma is one of 13 states to adopt legislation mandating abortion doctors must at least offer a woman the opportunity to see a sonogram of the child in her womb, according to NRLC. The others are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin. Louisiana’s law is different than the others, according to NRLC, in that it requires an ultrasound on any woman at least 20 weeks pregnant before offering her the chance to view the image.
Pregnancy care centers have reported dramatic upswings in clients choosing to give birth after viewing ultrasound images of their babies.
European council calls for unlimited abortion rights
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) has approved a resolution calling for member countries to drop all restriction on abortion rights.
On April 16, the assembly voted 102-69 for the measure, which is nonbinding.
Pat Buckley of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children described the decision as a “tragic day for Europe.”
“The resolution represents an attack on the sovereignty of member states, by attempting to impose a policy on abortion, something for which the Assembly has no legal or legitimate justification,” Buckley said in a written statement.
Four CoE members – Andorra, Ireland, Malta and Poland – have not legalized abortion, according to the Times of Malta.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
1 comments (post your own) feed
1 On Apr 22nd, 2008, at 12:35pm, joel wrote:
So are there alternatives to Komen available? If someone wants to support breast cancer research and be assured that their donation will actually go to such research and nothing else, what options if any are out there?