The Decemberists withdrew their fundraising support for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation after the organization decided to stop providing funding for Planned Parenthood, but earlier today the Komen Foundation reversed their decision and announced it will continue providing funding Planned Parenthood.
Tuesday the band aligned themselves with Planned Parenthood’s Breast Health Emergency Fund after the Komen Foundation withdrew funding for breast cancer examinations earlier this week. Komen insisted that a change in their grants policy prevented them from contributing further. Planned Parenthood claims that the foundation ultimately made their decision after receiving pressure from anti-abortion groups.
After Komen’s initial announcement, The Decemberists redirected funds from their “Team Jenny” t-shirts (created for keyboardist Jenny Conlee, currently in remission for breast cancer) to Planned Parenthood. They released the following statement on their website:
The Decemberists are deeply troubled by Komen for the Cure’s recent decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, a vital resource in the battle against breast cancer. Providing cancer screenings to low income women is integral to the prevention and defeat of breast cancer and it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right. We’ve decided to redirect the proceeds of the Team Jenny t-shirts and buttons away from Komen for the Cure. 100% of the net profits of these items will be instead donated to Planned Parenthood’s Breast Health Emergency Fund.
Please help to support this essential institution. And, if you’ve supported the Team Jenny effort in the past, please write to Komen for the Cure via their site or via twitter (@komenforthecure) and let them know that undermining women’s health for political reasons is unacceptable.
Now in a statement from Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker, Komen has announced they will continue to fund the Planned Parenthood grants.
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.
The Decemberist have amended their earlier statement saying they’re “pleased that Komen For The Cure reversed their decision.” No word on if the band plan will continue their fundraising efforts for the Komen Foundation
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