What Komen actually said
(Evy Mages for The Washington Post)
There’s a lot of reporting right now that the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation has “reversed” its decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. All of that has come out of a statement that the organization issued this morning, which you can read here. And while that statement does indicate that Planned Parenthood will now be eligible to apply for Komen grants, it does not address other reasons Komen has cited for no longer funding the group.
Over the past three days, Komen has cited two changes to its funding policies that make Planned Parenthood ineligible to receive grants. First, it said that it would no longer fund organizations under investigation. With a congressional probe into Planned Parenthood’s funding underway, the group would thus become ineligible. This is the change that Komen cited in its statement today, saying it would only bar groups under “criminal” investigation from receiving funding. Therefore, Planned Parenthood is once again eligible to apply for funds.
But there’s a second reason that Komen has cited: That the organization wants to spend its money on direct services, such as mammograms, which Planned Parenthood does not provide (its clinics do provide referrals, but not the actual screening).
“It was nothing they were doing wrong,” Komen CEO Nancy Brinker told reporters yesterday. “We have decided not to fund, wherever possible, pass-through grants. We were giving them money, they were sending women out for mammograms. What we would like to have are clinics where we can directly fund mammograms.”
Today’s statement does not address the “pass-through” issue and Komen has not responded to my multiple requests for comment on the issue. And that could mean that, while Planned Parenthood can apply for Komen grants, its applications may not be approved, because they do not provide direct mammogram services.
Komen certainly did revise its funding policy in a way that effects Planned Parenthood. But whether the decision was reversed is less clear.
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