Susan G. Komen + Planned Parenthood

[Tim]

You'll have noticed, I hope, that I have never supposed that I thought otherwise. This has little to do with anybody's bottom line, and everything to do with my decision to align myself with causes that I believe in.

I hope that it isn't an exclusively middle-aged Mormon male phenomenon to see little difference between donating to an organization that funds Planned Parenthood and buying a Dell that could also sell a computer to China.

I've got to run. I'm off to go shopping with my wife. Today I'll be making jerky for the first time with my new food dehydrator. Have a great week, AA!

[Moliere]

I can't be the only person enjoying the rich irony of Tim describing a position as extreme

I just like how he equates drinking a cappuccino to havin an abortion :facepalm:

[All-American]

Sorry, AA, but being favor of freedom and choice, and lobbying in favor of them, is not the same as "waving the flag of abortion."

Read what I said again. I said "waiving the banner for the 'pro-choice' movement," not "waving the flag of abortion." So your distinction misses what I said to begin with. Even if I did say the latter, though, it's a distinction without a difference. You're absolutely right: Planned Parenthood is in favor of the freedom to have an abortion, and the ability to choose to terminate a viable pregnancy on demand. I don't support that cause.

[All-American]

I've got to run. I'm off to go shopping with my wife. Today I'll be making jerky for the first time with my new food dehydrator. Have a great week, AA!

You too.

One other question, once you get around to it. You say it's extreme to withhold donations upon finding out the foundation is or isn't funding planned parenthood. Is it extreme to MAKE a donation upon finding out the foundation is or isn't funding planned parenthood? If not, what's the difference?

[TripletDaddy]

Is PP really the worlds leader in abortions? Does it really perform the most abortions? I have no idea, btw. It could be true for all I know. I've never heard that but I do know that only a portion of their overall budget goes to abortions.

[Green Monstah]

I didn't say it was you.

DDD, the least opinionated guy on this board.

[Green Monstah]

You don't know shit about this.

I don't know shit about the fact that I believe abortion on demand to be wrong? Or I don't know shit because there are no worthy substitutes for Komen?

I'm not asking you or anyone else to adopt a differing stance on abortion. I simply find it indefensible in many cases. If you disagree, I welcome your opinion and advice as a healthcare professional.

[Tim]

You too.

One other question, once you get around to it. You say it's extreme to withhold donations upon finding out the foundation is or isn't funding planned parenthood. Is it extreme to MAKE a donation upon finding out the foundation is or isn't funding planned parenthood? If not, what's the difference?

Let me think about this. I guess the scenario doesn't make sense to me. Is the scenario, for example, that someone isn't making a donation, then they're pondering giving to Komen, and then it becomes clear to them that Komen is giving money to PP, so they specifically donate? That sounds unrealistic. And the alternative: Someone isn't donating to Komen, then they find out that Komen doesn't give money to PP, so they donate? That sounds odd, too. Are you suggesting that the specific cause of them donating was a change in Komen's policy?

I believe Komen's donations went up the other day when it became clear that they wouldn't be financially assisting PP's cancer screening functions any longer. I don't know how I feel about that regarding extremity, but I think it's pretty clear that those people who donated then obviously didn't care one bit about cancer and preventing it. Otherwise they would've already donated.

[Tim]

I was making some bread tonight and I noticed that the back of my pack of Fleischmann's ActiveDry Yeast has a pink ribbon with information about the company giving money to Komen to fight breast cancer. Just thought I'd let you know so you can be sure to not buy it next time you're thinking of making bread. The last thing you want to do when baking bread is manifest support for abortion.

[Finngirl]

http://gawker.com/5791100/watch-stephen-colberts-defense-of-planned-parenthood

By the way: a hilarious, tears-from-laughing defense of PP by the Colbert Report (this was way before the Komen scandal, BTW)

[UtahDan]

The thing about planned parenthood is simply this -- they offer the full legal range of basic women's reproductive healthcare services, and they leave the choice of what is wanted to the woman, in consultation with a doctor. The choices obviously include some basic abortive procedures. But if abortion were to be outlawed tomorrow, and PP stopped offering to abort unwanted pregnancies, Planned Parenthood would continue to exist. In other words, Planned Parenthood doesn't exist for the purpose of aborting babies. They exist to provide basic reproductive health services to to women who might not otherwise be able to afford them. They offer legal services without any judgment. If the law changed to take abortion off the menu, PP would continue to provide reproductive health services without the choice of abortion.

It seems like the anger is misdirected against PP, and really belongs with the US Judicial system.

I read recently that abortions are 3% of what they do.

[Viking]

Komen has long been suspect as a worthy foundation. Find me ten women with breast cancer and I'll show you 8-9 who get livid when Komen is mentioned.

All this episode has done is demonstrated for everyone, not just those who have done due diligence, is just how poorly run and unwisely political of an org this is.

If you're an org about boobies, stick to boobies. If you want to take other stands, fess up and take the consequences. And they will.

I'm not an organization but I don't mind sticking to boobies.

[il Padrino Ute]

Komen had a chance to do the right thing, but wilted under pressure from the real baby killers in this world. Absolutely gutless on its part.

I'm with AA here. Komen gets no more donations because they donate to Planned Parenthood. There are other organizations which help the fight against cancer that don't murder the innocent.

[HauteCoug]

hey doc, any investment/financial advice for the masses?

ugh. DDD - you're an asshat.

By the way, complain away as you will about Komen, but they actually do a remarkable amount of good in the world of cancer prevention. Also, complain away as you will about PP, but they actually do a remarkable amount good in the world of keeping kids from getting each other pregnant. A lot more of their work is put into that than killing the babies of children who don't get any sex education.

[RobinFinderson]

The thing about planned parenthood is simply this -- they offer the full legal range of basic women's reproductive healthcare services, and they leave the choice of what is wanted to the woman, in consultation with a doctor. The choices obviously include some basic abortive procedures. But if abortion were to be outlawed tomorrow, and PP stopped offering to abort unwanted pregnancies, Planned Parenthood would continue to exist. In other words, Planned Parenthood doesn't exist for the purpose of aborting babies. They exist to provide basic reproductive health services to poor women who might not otherwise be able to afford them.

It seems like the anger is misdirected against PP, and really belongs with the US Judicial system.