The probe by Republicans in Congress centers on whether Planned Parenthood improperly used federal funds for abortion services. Planned Parenthood has long contended that no federal funds are used to provide abortions, and only a small percentage of its revenues are used for abortion services.
Following a storm of criticism, Komen announced Friday that it was restoring Planned Parenthood's funding and amending its policy "to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political."
As the country's largest provider of abortion services, Planned Parenthood has been a frequent target of antiabortion groups. But the funding it receives from Komen provides valuable breast-cancer screenings, mostly annual clinical exams, to about 170,000 low-income women who may not otherwise have access to preventive care.
It was hard to understand why Komen, the largest breast-cancer advocacy organization, would risk losing public support by severing a five-year partnership with Planned Parenthood. There was widespread speculation that Komen officials were led down the wrong path by Karen Handel, its new senior vice president for public policy. The former Republican candidate for governor of Georgia said in her 2010 campaign that she was pro-life and opposed to Planned Parenthood's mission.
Komen founder Nancy Brinker insists that the organization "will never bow to political pressure." But that was exactly what it looked like it was doing in cutting off its funding to Planned Parenthood. The decision had many longtime Komen supporters seeing red, instead of the iconic pink ribbons that have come to symbolize the group's fight against breast cancer.
