Our Body, Parts Ourselves: Komen and the New Divide in Women’s Health

Thanks to Susan G Komen’s recent decision to defund Planned Parenthood, proponents of women’s health are being forced to choose between the leading breast cancer advocacy group and the leading provider of women’s preventative health services.

On the surface, this may seem like it is forcing people to choose between being pro-choice and being anti-breast cancer, but the dividing line is much more complex than meets the eye. Planned Parenthood is an important ally in the fight against breast cancer; the organization provides nearly 750,000 annual breast exams to underserved women. By no longer giving grants to Planned Parenthood, Komen is denying these women a vital preventative service. Komen has been a leader in funding prevention, early detection, and awareness. Walking away from a provider of these services is an unacceptable deviation from the Komen mission.

Since hearing this announcement yesterday, I have been struggling with the realization that I cannot support Komen as long as it has this policy. This is not a decision I reached lightly. I have been a proud supporter of Komen since high school. I have done everything from exclusively using their stamps to captaining Race for the Cure teams. I even defended the organization in a McDermott Minute post. The work I did for Komen helped me feel empowered against breast cancer after my family was affected by the disease.

There are three considerations that have led me to this decision:

1) This action has made me lose respect for Komen as an organization. I cannot support an organization that is putting its image in the eyes of anti-abortion groups above its mission to improve women’s health. I also find Komen’s excuse for why they are cutting PP funding cowardly. Komen is claiming this decision is purely based on their policy of not funding organizations that are under investigation. It is an insult to our intelligence to suggest this is not politically driven, or not the result of Komen appointing a new, anti-choice Vice President. Komen is kowtowing to political pressure and trying to act like they are being completely apolitical.

2) I am angry that Komen is creating a divide in the fight for women’s health. Women’s health is constantly under attack from the right, and it is vital that all women’s advocacy groups stand together to ensure women have access to proper health care. Suddenly women’s health advocates across the country are being forced to choose between two of the leading women’s health organizations. Why would Komen choose to make itself a divisive force in the women’s health community?

Breast cancer and reproductive rights advocates are being attacked together, so they need to fight back together. Last week marked the 39^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the rulings 39^th year came with a record number of restrictions on reproductive services. The fine print of many of these restrictions also cut off access to breast exams and cancer screenings.

Last year, I had the honor of representing AAUW at the Rally for Women’s Health on the National Mall. It was in the midst of the budget showdown, and Republicans were using Title X funding, which provides cancer screenings for women, as a bargaining chip. I was impressed by the range of organizations that had come out to support Planned Parenthood. The rally made it clear that we stood together as one body in the fight for women’s health. One speaker at the rally was a single mother with breast cancer. If she had not gotten a breast exam at Planned Parenthood, she may not have found her cancer in time. I remember feeling so proud in that moment that I raised money for Komen, an organization that funded early detection services at Planned Parenthood. Now, the pride of that moment has been diminished*.

3) If Komen’s actions were caused by pressure from anti-abortion groups, it is time for us to pressure it right back. Komen seems to be under the impression that appeasing anti-abortion groups is worth backlash from pro-choice groups. We need to show Komen that they are wrong. For Komen to recognize the error of its ways, it needs to understand how much support it is risking. Since the announcement, Komen has already lost support and suffered the resignations of top officials. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has been showered with donations. We need to make sure this backlash continues to gain momentum.

My view at the Women's Health Rally

So, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided I will not be supporting Susan G. Komen until it reverses this decision. The energy I put into the Race for the Cure will be better directed toward organizations that puts women’s health first. I am pro-cancer-prevention, I am pro-choice, I am pro-women, and I’ll be damned if I have to give up one of these values for the others.

*Read more about my experience at the Women’s Health Rally on AAUW Dialog.

Yes We Can Again

I had a wake up call Sunday.

It happened when Facebook informed me that January 8, 2011 was the 4^th anniversary of the Yes We Can speech.

As I reflected on the speech, I realized that I need to get more involved in the election. When Obama made this speech four years ago, I was already an involved supporter. I had canvassed, phone-banked, started an Obama Facebook group, and made my own fundraising page on mybarackobama.com. (This was only the start … as my college friends will tell you. By the fall of 2008 I turned every gathering of more than four people into an opportunity to recruit volunteers for the local campaign office.) 

I have done some things already this go-around, but my tweets and Facebook posts don’t equal the enthusiasm and vigor I poured into the campaign at this point four years ago. 

This is, of course, largely a symptom of being a member of the incumbent's party (what up 1996!), as there is no threat of my candidate being ousted in Iowa or New Hampshire. But I will admit it is also due to my own political fatigue. I think a lot of us are politically frustrated, and that has taken a toll on our energy level as we enter 2012. 

As I watched the Yes We Can for the first time in a long time, I had two important realizations:

1) Yes, we actually did make headway on these goals! I know a lot of progressives feel defeated, but don’t lose sight of what has been accomplished. The Obama Administration has succeeded against great odds in creating sweeping health care reform, getting our troops out of Iraq, making college financing easier, and ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. These are major victories that we have been working towards for a long time. Do we still have work to do? Yes, but that’s why it is imperative that we gain momentum and live to fight another four years.

2) Obama’s still in this, and he needs us with him! A lot of people think Obama has a hard fight ahead of him, but that does not mean he is out. Don’t forget that when Obama made the Yes We Can speech he had just lost the New Hampshire primary. Obama ultimately won the general election in a wide victory (by contemporary presidential election standards), but we know from the primaries he is a clutch player. For example, the Yes We Can speech came out of a defeat, and his Philadelphia speech on race was the result of a potential political liability (his association with Rev. Wright) that could have cost him the nomination.

We need him to have his Yes We Can moments, but we also need to support him the way we did four years ago. I know a lot of you are frustrated –and I understand why. But I still believe, as I did when I watched this speech four years ago, Obama is our best bet to bring us towards a better future.

If a trip down the Yes We Can memory lane is not enough to get you pumped, go read some of the republican candidates positions… that will light a fire under you, trust me.

[Note: Sorry it’s been awhile since I’ve posted! Work and life have been keeping me busy.]