Some cancer survivors and advocates say Susan G. Komen for the Cure will have to work hard to win back supporters, even after the breast cancer organization reversed course on a controversial decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood.
Although some longtime supporters remain loyal, others said feelings of ill will were created by the controversy won’t be easily erased.
“There are many men and women who have completely lost their faith in Komen, and they won’t be back in the future,” said breast cancer survivor Lisa Bonchek Adams, of Darien, Conn., who raised nearly $15,000 for Komen shortly after her diagnosis.
Earning back that trust could take “a major overhaul,” said Adams, who says Komen needs to become “more transparent” about its goals and how it operates.
“I get to vote with my pocketbook,” said Adams, who writes a popular blog about breast cancer.
On Friday, the Komen organization backed away from a policy that said it would not fund any group under investigation. Planned Parenthood is currently being investigated by Rep. Cliff Stearn, R-Fla., who wants to see whether federal dollars were used to pay for the group’s abortion services. Komen has provided funding to Planned Parenthood for years, including nearly $700,000 in 2011, to provide education and breast care for low-income women.
Komen issued an apology Friday.
“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 foundation said in a statement. “The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen.”
In the statement, Komen rejected “the presumption that the changes made in our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.”
Komen CEO Nancy Brinker said the foundation now has new standards for withholding funds for organizations under investigation. They must be “criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair,” Brinker said on Komen’s website.
Source: USA Today | Liz Szabo and Gary Strauss
BCNN1 WP 