Planned Parenthood Donations Climb After Susan G. Komen Foundation Withdraws Funding

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Donations are pouring in to Planned Parenthood as the Susan G. Komen Foundation suffers a backlash from its decision Tuesday to ax funding for mammograms and breast care for women who don't have insurance. Ham on Wry ls both surprised and heartened that the flood of donations more than compensates for the loss of Komen's funding.

Planned Parenthood executives announced Wednesday that generous Americans contributed $650,000 within 24 hours, almost as much as last year’s Komen funding. Online donors contributed more than $400,000, and  philanthropist Lee Sikes and his wife Amy gave Planned Parenthood $250,000 through the family foundation.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office announced Thursday that he will give a $250,000 matching gift to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to help make up for the withdrawal of funds from the Komen Foundation. Mayor Bloomberg presented a written statement that declared, "Politics have no place in health care. Breast cancer screening saves lives, and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way." You go, Mayor Bloomberg!

Although Komen executives deny that the foundation bowed to pressure from anti-abortion groups, online comments show that people aren't buying what they're selling. Almost immediately after the announcement was made public, social media sites received a flurry of angry posts and online action groups rallied their members to decry the Komen Foundation decision. Public outcry centered on the frustration that women's health issues have been politicized based solely on the issue of abortion.

Lest we forget, I remind readers that our nation was founded on a principle of freedom to choose that rested on the notion of "separation of church and state." Every American has a right to an opinion, but that does not give citizens the right to force that opinion on others based on religious beliefs. We saw evidence of how strongly Mississippi's voters feel about a woman's right to choose when they defeated the "Personhood Amendment."

Kudos to everyone who expressed their ire at the Komen Foundation by donating to Planned Parenthood. Perhaps politicos should pay more attention to the people's will than to the lunatic fringes on either end of the political spectrum. Those squeaky wheels don't deserve oiling.