Catholic Church Opposes Susan G. Komen Abortion Funding Support

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For Immediate Release: Monday, June 08, 2009

Contact: Donald O’Connor, Spokesman, 870-2885, dsoconno@Comcast.Net

Subject: Catholic Church Opposes Susan G. Komen Abortion Funding Support.

The following statement is made today by Donald O’Connor spokesman for Chattanoogans for Life.

“Chattanoogans for Life applauds yesterday’s June 7, 2009, editorial by the East Tennessee Catholic, the bi-weekly newspaper published by Bishop Richard F. Stika, Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. The East Tennessee Catholic is mailed to all registered Catholic families in East Tennessee. Catholics in the Chattanooga Deanery of the Diocese of Knoxville began to receive their newspapers in Saturday’s mail.

“The editorial, by the paper’s editor, Mary C. Weaver, gives the reasons for opposing Susan G. Komen donations that fund Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortionist.

The editorial is on page 3 http://www.dioceseofknoxville.org/userfiles/june7.2009.pdf

And, the editorial is also published on the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville web page.

http://www.dioceseofknoxville.org/?news=3720&menu=1462&level=1

“The editorial states: “Sometimes our consumer purchases have moral implications

“A couple of weeks ago while grocery shopping, I reached for a package of Perdue chicken. I was hungry and looking for some boneless, skinless chicken breasts I could throw on the George Foreman grill for a quick lunch. But then I spotted a familiar pink-ribbon emblem. The sticker on the package proudly proclaimed that Perdue was a sponsor of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I made a mental note—here’s yet another consumer brand I can no longer buy—and chose another product.

“Don’t I see the value of supporting breast-cancer research? Of course. But I cannot in good conscience support an organization that makes grants to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States.

“I wrote about Komen twice in 2006 (online at bit.ly/13gcN4 and bit.ly/nuBND), and at the time I pointed out that “despite funding ‘many worthwhile breast-cancer programs,’ as Right to Life of Indianapolis puts it, the Komen Foundation also funds abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood. . . . This is no secret, as grant recipients are listed on the foundation’s website, komen.org. Further, the foundation’s founder, Nancy Brinier, has served on the Planned Parenthood of Dallas advisory board.”

“A couple of readers responded, saying that Komen grants to Planned Parenthood are not used to pay for abortions but rather to provide services such as mammograms. This is true—but supporting any program conducted by that organization means assisting the organization as a whole. This assistance also enhances the public image of Planned Parenthood, enabling it to deflect criticism of its core business—aborting babies—by focusing on the public services it provides.

“When I mentioned to a friend recently that I was planning to write about Komen again, she told me that the organization is now trying to combat criticism about its links with Planned Parenthood. Sure enough, there’s an entire page on the Komen website now to answer those who object to the connection.

“One document makes the statement that “while Komen affiliates provide funds to pay for screening, education, and treatment programs in dozens of communities, in some areas, the only place that poor, uninsured or under-insured women can receive these services are [sic] through programs run by Planned Parenthood.”

“It is very true that Planned Parenthood is overrepresented in poor and minority neighborhoods. This is logical, given the organization’s legacy. Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, was a noted eugenicist and racist who believed the “unfit” should be discouraged from “breeding like weeds,” as she wrote in her essay “We Must Breed a Race of Thoroughbreds.”

“The Planned Parenthood document cited above also quotes two Catholic ethicists who see no moral problem with supporting Komen. This puts me in mind of Shakespeare’s adage that “the devil can cite Scripture for his own purpose.” In any case, I do not find these ethicists’ arguments compelling.

“Here’s an additional fact to keep in mind: as I learned recently, the Komen organization also supports embryonic-stem-cell research. The website of the Archdiocese of St. Louis offers a detailed explanation (available here: bit.ly/sm1S9) on why the archdiocese cannot support or encourage participation in Komen events. It’s well worth reading.

“Komen’s corporate sponsors will remain on my blacklist. You can view the entire list online here: www.komen.org/partners/partners.sponsors.html.

“Finally, if you wish to help defeat breast cancer, the Bioethics Defense Fund website lists other several organizations, including the American Cancer Society, that also fund breast cancer research. Here’s the list: www.bdfund.org/breastcancerorgs.asp”
Chattanoogans for Life also opposes the diversion of scarce cancer research funds away from genuine scientific research for use in non-scientific activities such as abortion.

We urge all people to use the peaceful processes of our free democracy to use science and only science as the basis for cancer research funding.