Nobody Wins

Today the Komen foundation announced that it was ending its partnership with Planned Parenthood.  Whether it was political or not, the news has created a flood of comments about Komen, their position, and Planned Parenthood.

I find it all so sad.  Months ago, when I decided to sign up for my fourth Komen 3-Day Walk, I read the comments of those who refused to support Komen because of its support for Planned Parenthood.  While I supported the right of Komen to provide money and grants to Planned Parenthood, I also respected the rights of others to withhold support of Komen because of their feelings about Planned Parenthood.

Now the shoe is on the other foot.  Longtime supporters of Komen are pulling their support of Komen and are decrying the organization because of this new decision.  Again, I understand their frustration.  They, as I do, realize the importance of Planned Parenthood - not only for parenting choices, but for serving women who financially are not able to get medical help and mammograms anywhere else.  But I can't help but wonder if this is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  Exactly what were the donations to Komen supposed to be about?

If donations were made on behalf of breast cancer, then perhaps the donation is intact.  I can only hope that in the days to come, Komen finds a way to serve the women that it is now denying services.  While I would hope that Komen would reverse its decision, I feel that that may not happen.

If a person's donation to Komen is that person's sole commitment to Planned Parenthood and its services, then the donation should be made directly to Planned Parenthood.  Somehow both these great organizations whose sole purpose is to help women, have become involved in political rhetoric that has caused lines to be drawn in the sand, and once those lines get drawn, it's very difficult to find common ground.

There are no winners here - not those needing help from either organization, not those who support Planned Parenthood, and not those who are against Planned Parenthood.  There are only losers - and they are the ones who need our help the most - those who have breast cancer, especially those ones who don't even know they have it yet.

Somehow, I don't think any of this is what Nancy Brinker had in mind when she started the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I hope that somehow those lines in the sand get erased, and we get back to the business of saving women from this disease - in every way we can.

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Today's blessings:  Six+ mile walk to Michael's and back