Letter to the Editor
by
Advocacy is not Research:
The Komen Foundation's undeniably noble mandate is to raise funds to support breast cancer research. Great! Who doesn't think that's a worthwhile endeavour? Apparently some are uncertain. Over the past couple of weeks, Komen has found itself at the bottom of a huge pile of criticism. Why? Because the organization stopped funding Planned Parenthood, that's why. Now love Planned Parenthood or hate it, no one can deny that one of the central activities of this organization is the advocacy of abortion rights. Yes, Planned Parenthood does focus on other areas of access to maternal health, but that doesn't negate the fact that they are a propaganda machine that partakes in lobbying various governments around the world. Of course on a local level Planned Parenthood can, and should, work together with Komen to ensure that women get access to their health needs. But the womb is not the breast and advocacy is not research. If you want to fight culture wars, don't do it through a research organization. Komen should not have been funding Planned Parenthood.
Now I suppose it's confession time. I am a man (GASP!). How dare I write about women's health! "Go fetch the pitchforks, bras and gasoline! Get this fox out of the henhouse!" And if that's the way you feel, you're free to turn the page. You may never learn why you're right and I'm wrong. Who knows I may even have something worth saying. It's not only women who fund these organizations. It doesn't really matter if I'm pro-choice, or pro-life. I'm pro-health. I'm for having every dollar possible spent on finding ways to treat and maybe even cure breast cancer, a disease that plagues our communities and families.
Every dollar that Komen spent on funding Planned Parenthood was one dollar less spent on funding cancer research. That's not to mention all of the lost opportunity in funds from pro-life donors who rightly or wrongly seem to have an allergic reaction to Planned Parenthood. Komen made the right decision, so let's get off their backs and applaud them in their search to improve women's health. As for Planned Parenthood, are they now shrivelling up deprived of Komen's sponsorship? No. Some have even suggested that this energizing of their base will result it in the emptying of wallets into Planned Parenthood's war chest. People who actually support a woman's right to choose paying to advocate for that right. Those who want to support health research can support health research, those who want to see a woman's right to choose fought for can support that noble cause separately. Just the way it should be.
Christopher Samsom