Planned Parenthood: We’ve Raised $400K Since Komen Decision

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 1, 2012   |   9:00PM   |   Washington, DC

The Planned Parenthood abortion business claims it has raised $400,000 since Komen for the Cure made its decision to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars from the abortion giant due to a change in grant-making policies.

The abortion business said late today that it received more than $400,000 from 6,000 donors in the 24 hours following the news that Komen had made the decision last month to end Planned Parenthood funding. Andrea Hagelgans, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, told AP the abortion business appreciated the support from its members.

“People respond powerfully when they see politics interfering with women’s health,” she said. “These donations will continue to help expand Planned Parenthood’s critical health care services nationwide, especially those affiliates impacted by the Komen cuts.”

Shortly after the decision, Planned Parenthood, in an email to its supporters, is putting the blame squarely on pro-life groups, saying Komen revoked the funding because pro-life advocates hate women.

“I wanted to share some extremely discouraging news from a partner and longtime ally for women’s health — news that could have devastating consequences for women,” Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards writes to top supporters of the abortion business in an email LifeNews received. “The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has announced that it will stop supporting lifesaving breast cancer screening for low-income and underserved women at Planned Parenthood health centers.”

“It’s a deeply disappointing decision — made even more alarming because politically motivated groups and individuals determined to undermine women’s access to care appear to have successfully intimidated the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to withdraw this critical support,” she said. “But when anti-choice groups began criticizing the Komen Foundation for partnering with Planned Parenthood, the foundation ended its support for Planned Parenthood health centers. We know our opponents put their ideology over women’s health and lives. What we never expected is that an ally like the Komen Foundation would choose to listen to them.”

The email asked for an “emergency donation” to the abortion business to replace the donations Komen sent.

Today, Planned Parenthood followed up with a second fundraising plea. [related]

“We are overwhelmed by your amazing support since yesterday’s announcement that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation will stop funding breast cancer screening at Planned Parenthood health centers. Thank you,” Richards said. “I am deeply touched and quite honestly amazed at the support that has poured in from women across the country. And I have to say — I signed that open letter with pride, because it captures exactly how I feel. It doesn’t matter what the anti-choice, anti-women’s health forces out there do. As parents, we tell our kids not to give in to bullies — and we shouldn’t, either. I promise you that we won’t, no matter what.”

The email included threatening language directed at pro-lifers that Richards featured from one pro-abortion activist.

“Listen up,” the activist said. “You can spend every minute of every day trying to force the rest of us to live by your ideology. You can go after federal funds for health care and pressure private organizations like the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to stop funding breast cancer screenings for poor women. You can try to make it impossible to get birth control.”

“But you know what you can’t do? You can’t win. You can’t break us. Planned Parenthood isn’t just a family of organizations. It’s a movement. It’s women and men of all ages who believe that health care — including reproductive health care — is a basic human right. We are millions strong. We are everywhere. We act, we give, and we do whatever it takes to make sure that Planned Parenthood is there for the women, men, and teens who rely on them,” the angry activist added. “Know this: When you go after Planned Parenthood and the people they serve, you go after ME. I stand with Planned Parenthood. I stand with them against anyone who wants to stop women from receiving the health care they need. I stand with them today, tomorrow, and for as long as I need to.”

Figures from August directly from the Komen for the Cure foundation show 18 affiliates of the breast cancer charity gave a total of more than $569,000 to the Planned Parenthood abortion business in 2010. That was down from the $731,303 Komen officials publicly confirmed in October 2010, when they acknowledged that 20 of the 122 Komen affiliates gave to Planned Parenthood during the 2009 fiscal year.

Komen, this afternoon, defended its decision and received praise from pro-life groups.