News Tidbits

Washington Post: Evangelicals voting in record numbers in GOP primaries

San Fransisco Chronicle: Santorum courts conservative Christians

Boston Globe: High court rejects Christian campus groups' appeal

Los Angeles Times: Tennessee abortion bill would require publishing names of doctors

Dayton Daily News: Abortion foes to say exorcism prayers at clinic

MSNBC: I would have done the same to a drunk, says priest who denied Communion to lesbian

Ms. Magazine: Komen Relationship with Catholic Church Revealed

Cape Times: Death at ‘miracle’ rally

Channel 3000: Attorneys Defend Pastor Accused Of Encouraging Corporal Punishment Against Children
(Hat tip to Butterflies and Wheels)

Commentary Tidbits

Ward Gossip: Dropping the Satire Just for Today

Huffington Post: Evolution Weekend: Protecting Both Religion and Science

RH Reality Check: Wisconsin Set to Overturn Healthy Youth Act in Favor of Abstinence-Only Programming

Aljazeera: Susan G Komen: The tip of the iceberg

Women's eNews: Susan G. Komen's Apolitical Pink Turns Red

-- Don't forget to check out this Doonesbury comic strip too! --

Commentary Tidbits

Whatever Works: Where Are the Women? Parts I, II, III, and IV

Raw Story: ‘Romney Condoms’ offer protection for the ‘elite penis’

Right Wing Watch: Steve King and White Nationalist CPAC Panel Warn that America's Greatest Threat is its Diversity

Constance Johnson at the Guardian: About my 'spilled semen' amendment to Oklahoma's Personhood bill

Fallen from Grace: The Catholic Church, Catholic Women, and Birth Control

Mother Jones: The Republican War on Contraception

Aljazeera: Planned Parenthood pulls a 'Buffy' on the Right

Salon: The making of gay marriage’s top foe

Commentary Tidbits

Groping the Elephant: President Obama's Religious Outlook

Rolling Stone: One Town's War on Gay Teens

The Atlantic: Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In

The New Civil Rights Movement: Top 10 Most-Offensive Things About Anti-Gay Tennessee Senator Campfield (That You Didn’t Already Know)

Huffington Post: Sit-Ins for Stacey

Komen Reverses Decision; Religious Right Disgusted

Earlier this week, the media reported that breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen For the Cure was ending breast health grants to Planned Parenthood. A public relations firestorm erupted, culminating in a letter from twenty-six Democratic senators to Komen CEO Nancy Brinker, urging her to reconsider. On Friday, Susan G. Komen For the Cure announced that it has reversed that decision and will continue to fund Planned Parenthood.

As you can imagine, the Religious Right was not amused.

- In a February 3rd press release by the Family Research Council, FRC Director for the Center of Human Dignity Jeanne Monahan said that it would be "heartbreaking" for breast cancer victims if Planned Parenthood "bullied" Komen into weakening their standards. She expressed dismay that Planned Parenthood allegedly took Susan G. Komen For the Cure and "demonize[d] it overnight for simply making their grants results-oriented." (See www[dot]frc[dot]org/newsroom/frc-responds-to-susan-g-komens-reconsideration-of-abortion-neutral-stance)

- At the Bound 4 Life Moral Outcry blog, Susan Michelle insisted urged observers not to "get caught up in a war of words" between Komen and Planned Parenthood. She insisted that Christians are "literally seeing spiritual warfare in ways that some only see through eyes of discernment in a spiritual sense," sharing a provocative quote from Ephesians 6:12. Amusingly, Michelle compared the Komen/Planned Parenthood debacle to pink robots. (See bound4life[dot]com/blog/2012/02/03/finding-peace-in-the-komen-vs-planned-parenthood-spiritual-war)

"...it’s interesting to me how every time Planned Parenthood gets threatened they manage to get even the US government on their side and make enough noise that they end up with something just short of a congressional medal. If we see with spiritual eyes, we will see this goes so much deeper than a tug-of-war between two women’s organizations."

- In a commentary at the National Review Online, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly claimed that Komen gave into "a relentless barrage of political bullying." Daly described Komen's reversal as "political correctness ... running amok."(See www[dot]nationalreview[dot]com/corner/290143/komen-foundation-was-bullied-left-jim-daly

- In a statement at the National Right to Life website, Carol Tobias criticized Planned Parenthood for launching "a shrill online campaign to bring Komen to its knees by bullying the organization into submission." Tobias insisted that Planned Parenthood is in the "business" of abortion, not breast cancer, and discouraged Susan G. Komen For the Cure and other cancer research groups from funding Planed Parenthood. (See www[dot]nrlc[dot]org/press_releases_new/Release020312.html)

Susan G. Komen For the Cure Ends Partnership with Planned Parenthood

2/3/12 UPDATE: Susan G. Komen For the Cure announced today that it will continue funding for Planned Parenthood.



(Click here if you're having trouble viewing the video.)

Breast cancer charity Susan. G. Komen For the Cure has ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood affiliates and halted grants for breast health services at Planned Parenthood clinics. According to NPR, the Komen ended the relationship because Planned Parenthood is currently under investigation, thanks to an inquiry launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Florida) into Planned Parenthood's use of public money.

Commentators have speculated on whether the right-leaning politics of some high-ranking staff at Susan G. Komen For the Cure played any role in recent events. Mother Jones notes that Komen CEO Nancy Brinker has donated money to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee. RH Reality Check observes that Komen Senior Vice President for Policy Karen Handel is a former anti-abortion gubernatorial candidate, and that Komen Advocacy Alliance Board member Jane Abraham is General Chair of the Susan B. Anthony List.

Not surprisingly, anti-abortion activists were elated at this news, several using it as an opportunity to ridicule Planned Parenthood.

In a press release, Louisiana Senator David Vitter (yes, that Sen. Vitter) wrote that he urged Komen CEO Nancy Brinker to end the organization's relationship with Planned Parenthood.  (See

“This is a welcome, long overdue decision that will make Komen more effective in the fight against breast cancer, which is why I wrote a letter to Komen’s founder and CEO last May urging her to take this step. Komen does tremendous good by supporting education and research to fight breast cancer, and it was clear that their association with Planned Parenthood was unnecessary to advance that core mission."

In a January 31st press release, the Family Research Council applauded the Susan G. Komen For the Cure for ending its funding of Planned Parenthood. FRC president Tony Perkins praised the organization for "putting women's health first rather than fund the nation's largest abortion provider." Perkins accused Planned Parenthood of allegedly covering up cases of statutory rape and committing financial misconduct.

At the blog of anti-abortion group Bound 4 Life, Susan Michelle was pleased with the Komen's decision and urged readers to pray that the decision remains permanent. (Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.)

"Though Komen says these public criticisms are not a factor in their choice to stop funding Planned Parenthood, it’s hard to believe that the pressure didn’t impact the decision ... Pray for this to be permanent; pray the truth behind the abortion industry is exposed in this congressional investigation—and thank Komen, as well. If the public support is higher for cutting support than not, Komen is unlikely to return to it."

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign blog praised the decision while making questionable links between abortion and breast cancer risk. The blog discussed at length efforts by SNMAC and other anti-abortion groups to promote the dubious link between abortion and breast cancer. The blog failed to mention a 2003 National Cancer Institute gathering of over 100 global cancer experts, which concluded that abortion does not increase a woman's risk of breast cancer.

Finally, Americans United for Life CEO Charmaine Yoest approved of the move as well, lambasting Planned Parenthood as a "billion dollar, abortion mega-provider." In a January 31st blog post, she insisted that Susan G. Komen For the Cure should not be "intertwined with an industry dealing in death." The post added that Americans United for Life urged Rep. Stearns to investigate Planned Parenthood. 


For additional commentary, visit the following links.

Brilliant at Breakfast: If you've been donating to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, it's time to stop

Jezebel: Susan G. Komen Foundation Begins Backpedaling for the Cure

Right Wing Watch: 'Pro-Life' Activists Pile Praise Decision to Defund Breast Cancer Screenings at Planned Parenthood with Phony Science

Credo Action: Tell the board of Susan G. Komen for a Cure: Don't throw Planned Parenthood under the bus!