Susan G. Komen Apologizes; Planned Parenthood Eligible for Grants Again

"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives."

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, which has spent most of the week responding to heated criticism of its newly adopted policy that squashed Planned Parenthood grants, is now reversing that policy, SGK announced Friday.

"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," said Komen founder and CEO, Nancy G. Brinker, in a statement released Friday (full statement below).

The original policy eliminated grants to organizations under investigation. In September, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) opened a congressional inquiry into whether or not federal funds were being used to fund abortions at Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood was expecting around $700,000 from Komen for breast-cancer screenings and other breast-health services.

Brinker addressed the controversy in a YouTube video posted Wednesday and then hit the TV news circuit on Thursday. By then, it was too late.

As the story -- complete with impassioned arguments on both sides -- spread across social media, Planned Parenthood quickly racked up enough donations to cover the loss of the Komen grants.

One of the top officials at Komen, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest. In Los Angeles County, the executive director of the local Komen branch, Deb Anthony, also resigned, although the departure was simply coincidental, Anthony said.

Related: Fierce Komen Backlash in California | Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigns from LA Chapter


Full Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker

"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives.

"The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.

"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.

"Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer.  Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities. 

"It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics - anyone's politics.

"Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public's understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.

"We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern."

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