Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Politics Karen Handel resigns from Komen over Planned Parenthood debacle
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 10:41 AM
- Joeff Davis/CL File
- Au Revoir!
Karen Handel, the former Georgia secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate who's been blamed for pushing the Susan G. Komen Foundation to stop awarding grants to Planned Parenthood, has resigned from the cancer fundraiser.
Peach Pundit points us to a resignation letter by Handel, who had served as Komen's senior vice president of public policy, posted on a Wordpress blog that's apparently dedicated to explaining the events behind the brouahaha.
Although addressed to Komen CEO Nancy Brinker, Handel's letter is tantamount to a press release and attempt to tell her side of the story, which, thus far, she's opted not to do. She says she's "deeply disappointed" by the "gross mischaracterizations" of the foundation's decision to stop awarding grants to Planned Parenthood, the reasons behind it, and her involvement. She adds that Komen's decision to change the way it awards grants was made before she joined the organization and that politics played no role.
So, what's next for Handel? Perhaps helping launch a tasty beverage called "New Coke?"
Here's the meat of her resignation letter.
"What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision — one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact — has unfortunately been turned into something about politics," she writes. " This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly."
As you know, I have always kept Komen’s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority — as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board’s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen’s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization’s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.
I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen’s future and the women we serve. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone’s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants.What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision — one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact — has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly.
Just as Komen’s best interests and the fight against breast cancer have always been foremost in every aspect of my work, so too are these my priorities in coming to the decision to resign effective immediately. While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline. It is my most sincere hope that Komen is allowed to now refocus its attention and energies on its mission.
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Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
"Komen's senior vice president of public policy" Shit how do i get one of these cushy jobs which obviously require only a limited skill set.
Was that some type of fundraising move? Wonder how much money Komen spends just chasing money.
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"While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline."
I wonder if that offer was made before she made the decision to resign, or after.
She looks like a bouffanted, cross-dressing version of Lou Evans of Evans Toyota fame. "Hi Folks!"
Speaking of the language of the letter. Their whole story of it being a general policy to stop funding for groups under investigation is laughable.
Planned parenthood was around in when I was a young child ( a long time ago) I recall my mother helping with fundraisers. And it appears they've been around far longer than I (at least the 1941).
That the VP of policy could argue that an investigation without any significant factual basis launched by a single Congressman at the request of a politically motivated group could be the basis for cutting off funding to a group with such a long track record is beyond logical.
If the policy adopted by Komen places the "investigation" threshold that low then Handel should have done her job and fixed the policy.
Did she warn the board about the policy? Seems pretty obvious that cutting off funding under these circumstances was not the intent of "thepolicy" was.
"She looks like a bouffanted, cross-dressing version of Lou Evans of Evans Toyota fame. 'Hi Folks!'"
Baahahahaha - I die!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/m… Good ole reliable Mittens - delivering once again. He thinks Komen should cut off funding!
The letter is bullshit. She's a liar and is in heavy damage control mode. She ran here on a Pro-Life platform and her rhetoric has always demonized Planned Parenthood. She tried to politicize women's health issues (again!)& push her agenda & THANKFULLY was knocked back for it. Happy ending!
demonstrating once again that social conservatives aren't pro-life, they're pro-forced pregnancy
so willing to defeat the evil Abortion hydra that they're willing to increase breast and cervical cancer rates among poor women to achieve their impossible, quixotic goal
tim tebow i mean jeebus would be proud
Hey the poor have a safety net, you don't need to worry about them. And if there are some holes in the net Mitt will fix them....... oh wait but this does kind of take away a key part of the net and set up a huge run up in health care costs for treating cancer that wasn't detected earlier. Well I'm sure Mitt's got a plan, after all he doesn't think Komen or the Government should give funds to Planned Parenthood.
i'm pro-life, pretty firmly. i think abortions are performed without recognizing the infinite value in the life of every person— it is a shame that so many women choose to essentially toss their children in the dumpster.
on the same token, i recognize the ability of planned parenthood to do many things other organizations won't. they give breast exams, pap smears, and provide all kinds of services for women and mothers in particular, especially for those with low income. it's a shame that they fund abortions, but that only accounts for 3% of their activities from what i understand. ultimately it is komen's choice to have done what they did, but seeing as how preventing breast cancer is their entire purpose, stopping funding to a service that provides so many mammograms is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot, and is a terrible loss for many that rely on the funding for these kinds of services.
"i think abortions are performed without recognizing the infinite value in the life of every person"
not so much. what you're doing here is 'otherizing' women who choose to have abortions, as a way of explaining to yourself why someone else wouldn't make the same decision that you would
choosing an abortion is a very hard decision, but ultimately it comes down to whether or not the mother in question feels like she can provide what the child deserves
many women do recognize the value of life, which makes choosing an abortion that much harder. it really really sucks, believe me - but they feel that the short term pain is better than the long term pain of being a poor parent
nobody can really make that sort of calculating moral decision for another person, which is why abortions should be legal
i totally respect people who choose not to have abortions for any reason, because having a kid that you're not prepared or equipped to raise is a very brave choice
but i don't respect when other people call me a bad person for making a decision that conflicts with their moral values and not my own
Also Planned Parenthood prevents far more abortions than would exist without it by bringing contraceptives and conception education to many who would not otherwise have that access.
But again this whole flap is about the funding for the breast cancer screening operations of Planned Parenthood. Pulling the funding for this would effect that program but not the contraceptive and limited abortion work.
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