The power of social media cannot be denied. Nor is it deniable that the pervasiveness of social media power is incredible. This fact was first seen during the protests against PIPA and SOPA, which, quite literally, caused several Congressional supporters to renege on their promise to support the controversial legislation. And, I am pleased to announce that public outcry, which came mainly via social media outlets, has led to the Komen Foundation restoring their grants that funded breast cancer screening procedures for Planned Parenthood. The purpose of this post is to address two key questions: 1. Though the funding has been restored, we must ask ourselves: why was funding denied in the first place? 2. Is there an underlying and insidious agenda behind the actions that led to the denial of funding?
First, what led Komen, the first and arguably the most successful breast cancer awareness and prevention foundation, to cut off funding for breast cancer screenings when surely such action is the antithesis of their mission? I do not believe that Komen’s decision was based on malice or some type of competition with Planned Parenthood. Instead, I believe that Komen’s decision was influenced by politics, as usual (and to be more specific, Right Wing Politics).
It all started when the Komen foundation hired Karen Handel, former gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia and an adamant pro-lifer, as a vice president for policy. This was an interesting choice of hire seeing how Komen prided itself on being a non-partisan non-profit that was fully committed to their mission. Why then did they hire someone who, not only speaks out constantly against abortion, but also one who has expressed animosity against Planned Parenthood which has served as a Komen’s partner for years? Surely Nancy Brinker and the other directors of Komen anticipated some type of drama. Sure enough, shortly after Ms. Handel was hired, the powers that be at Komen began questioning whether or not they should affiliate themselves with an organization that provides abortion.
Now, Komen couldn’t come out and just say that they were pulling funding because of any anti-abortion ideology. Instead, they came up with a brilliant excuse. The organization made the decision that they can no longer provide grants to any organization that is under Congressional or legal investigation. The interesting thing to note is that, of all of the organizations that Komen provides some type of funding to, only Planned Parenthood fit the criteria of their new policy. Consequently, funding was stripped from Planned Parenthood. Now I hate being accused of seeing things when they are not there, or flipping out about issues that turn out to be completely coincidental. However, the timeline cannot be overlooked. Karen Handel (a woman with a deep opposition to Planned Parenthood) is hired and then the emergence of this policy regarding denying funding to organizations under investigation (which only impacts Planned Parenthood)? Sounds fishy. To sum up this point, I believe there is evidence for the claim that pressure from Right Wing politicians influenced the decision the defund Planned Parenthood.
Secondly, is there an underlying and insidious agenda behind the actions that led to the denial of funding? Yes. I believe there is. What the Komen Foundation controversy shows us is that a war is currently occuring. This war has not been waged against any foreign enemy, but rather with a group that makes up a little more than half of our population. I am referring, of course, to the war on women that has been waged by social conservative extremists. Fighting to outlaw abortion is not the only tool in the social conservatives’ arsenal. They also seek to suppress female sexuality and expression, guilt trip young women and lead them to believe that they are ultimately at fault when they conceive children out of wedlock, and not so secretly criticize women who reject the tradition of staying home with the children while daddy brings home the bacon. Though I am not implying that the Komen foundation intended to harm any women through their actions, they nevertheless served as a useful pawn in further denigrating women throughout the country. To conclude, the underlying agenda behind the actions that led to the Komen controversy is a war on women.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the Komen’s apology and their refunding of Planned Parenthood. This is great news, undoubtedly, but I believe that there will be continued backlash against the Komen foundation. Though I, like many others, am upset at Komen for sinking so low and allowing political pressures to compromise their efforts at providing much needed female health care services, and I am also forgiving. I also urge others to not hold this action against Komen. They are an organization that has, and will continue to, provide excellent services and research meant to alleviate and prevent the pain and damages caused by breast cancer. They made a mistake, and then they reversed their decision due to public outcry. This is how democracy works. Komen made their apology and I accept it. I hope that you all accept it as well. After all, there is too much at stake. As long as there is a woman out there who is in need of health care services, we do not have the luxury of being unforgiving of those who have made it their mission to provide hope to those who have none.
~KJSW
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