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neadodsI see that 3 days of intense blowback both externally and internally (the forum posts were running something like 30 to 1 against the defund decision) has made the Komen foundation back down.
Sort of.
The policy of denying grants to institutions under investigation has been clarified to say "criminal investigation." This takes Planned Parenthood off one chopping block... but there's still no word about dropping the Komen grant to Penn State, which certainly is under criminal investigation.
Furthermore, the apology doesn't clarifiy any of the other problematic issues, not the least of which is the fact that the congressional investigation is only one of the reasons that Komen has cited for its reason to drop PP funding in the first place. Certainly the apology dances around my biggest area of concern: the horrific decision by Komen's founder and chief executive to cite mammogram referrals as a "pass through" service that she (and thus Komen) considers to be "funding the same thing over and over" and that "We don't like to do pass-through grants any more." (All quotes direct from Brinker as cited in this LA Times article.)
Breast exams and mammograms are how breast cancer is detected. The standard medical practice for both poor and rich women is to go to a gynocologist who performs a breast exam and writes a referral for a mammogram if that doctor feels it necessary. The Komen Foundation may have apologized for pissing off PP supporters, but there hasn't been a peep about their incredibly problematic announcement they "don't like to do" grants for *the standard practice for detecting breast cancer* any more.
If you're not going to be about finding breast cancer, just curing it, then say so. If you're going to be about finding breast cancer and you don't like the nation-wide model for detection, develop and fund an alternative. But FFS don't say you're for finding and curing breast cancer and then blow off the method of detection as used by all doctors as something you "don't like" to fund!
Sort of.
The policy of denying grants to institutions under investigation has been clarified to say "criminal investigation." This takes Planned Parenthood off one chopping block... but there's still no word about dropping the Komen grant to Penn State, which certainly is under criminal investigation.
Furthermore, the apology doesn't clarifiy any of the other problematic issues, not the least of which is the fact that the congressional investigation is only one of the reasons that Komen has cited for its reason to drop PP funding in the first place. Certainly the apology dances around my biggest area of concern: the horrific decision by Komen's founder and chief executive to cite mammogram referrals as a "pass through" service that she (and thus Komen) considers to be "funding the same thing over and over" and that "We don't like to do pass-through grants any more." (All quotes direct from Brinker as cited in this LA Times article.)
Breast exams and mammograms are how breast cancer is detected. The standard medical practice for both poor and rich women is to go to a gynocologist who performs a breast exam and writes a referral for a mammogram if that doctor feels it necessary. The Komen Foundation may have apologized for pissing off PP supporters, but there hasn't been a peep about their incredibly problematic announcement they "don't like to do" grants for *the standard practice for detecting breast cancer* any more.
If you're not going to be about finding breast cancer, just curing it, then say so. If you're going to be about finding breast cancer and you don't like the nation-wide model for detection, develop and fund an alternative. But FFS don't say you're for finding and curing breast cancer and then blow off the method of detection as used by all doctors as something you "don't like" to fund!
