Komen backs off decision on funding cuts

NEW YORK — In an apparent reversal of Susan G. Komen For the Cure's funding cuts to Planned Parenthood, the founder and CEO of the nation's largest breast-cancer advocacy agency said Friday that the group would amend the criteria that sparked a firestorm.

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"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligiblity to apply for future grants," Nancy G. Brinker, the agency's ambassador, said in a statement.

"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."

Brinker's statement reiterated that Komen's original decision was not "done for political reasons, or specifically to penalize Planned Parenthood."

The group will amend its new criteria to ensure that disqualifying investigations must be "criminal and conclusive" in nature, the statement said. Komen officials had originally said they cut funding to Planned Parenthood because the group is the subject of a Republican-led federal investigation fostered by anti-abortion advocates.

It was not immediately clear what the change would actually mean for future Planned Parenthood funding. Komen board member John Raffaelli told the Washington Post Friday that the agency could not guarantee future grants to the agency.

But Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said the agency was grateful to resume longstanding relations with Komen and that she anticipated continued funding.

"I really take them at their word that this is behind us," Richards told reporters at a press conference Thursday.

She credited an outpouring of support, particularly on on social media sites, with forcing the change. In that last three days, Planned Parenthood raised $3 million and acquired 10,000 new Facebook supporters, Richards said.

Komen's policy change came after a fiery backlash among supporters and even some of the organization's top officials. Mollie Williams, Komen's director of community health programs, had resigned in protest over the cuts, a source said.

In Washington, 26 U.S. senators this week signed a letter calling on Komen to reconsider its decision. "It would be tragic if any woman — let alone thousands of women — lost access to these potentially lifesaving screenings because of a politically motivated attack," the senators wrote.

Komen leaders had denied Planned Parenthood's assertion that the decision was driven by pressure from anti-abortion groups. According to Planned Parenthood, its health centers performed more than 4 million breast exams over the past five years, including nearly 170,000 as a result of Komen grants. The grants totaled $680,000 last year.

As the controversy erupted, donations to Planned Parenthood poured in. Besides $400,000 in smaller donations from 6,000 people, Planned Parenthood received a $250,000 pledge announced Thursday by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to match future donations.

Komen was deluged with negative emails and Facebook postings, accusing it of knuckling under to pressure from anti-abortion groups. Some of Komen's local affiliates were openly upset, including all seven in California.

According to the Associated Press, which first reported Tuesday that Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from grants, the original move was made solely to penalize the agency.

The AP reported that a source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen's headquarters said the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria's impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Karen Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.

Brinker, in an interview with MSNBC, said Handel didn't have a significant role in the policy change.

At a special board meeting late on Thursday, the Komen organization agreed in principle to issue an apology and change the language of the organization's funding criteria, board member John Raffaelli told Reuters.

"Our policy was that in our original board meeting (on the funding) and it didn't come out very clearly," Raffaelli said. "It got screwed up."

The reversal circulated within minutes on social media sites like Twitter, where much of the furious debate over Komen's move had been waged in the past three days.

Nancy Healey, executive director of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in central and southern New Jersey, said she had no doubt the public outcry led the group to reverse its decision.

"We sent official letters to the headquarters," she said. "Komen is a grassroots organization. The displeasure and the outrage was heard and the decision was reversed. I'm thrilled."

The Komen reversal also spurred disappointment among social conservatives, showing that the organization still faces fallout from the crisis.

Related:

• Komen reversal illustrates political battle over Planned Parenthood
• Under fire, Komen CEO denies politics in Planned Parenthood cuts
• Planned Parenthood sees big spike in donations
• Too little, too late for Komen, bioethicist says