Komen group cuts breast screening funds

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has announced that it will stop funding breast cancer prevention, screenings, and education at Planned Parenthood health centers, Planned Parenthood said.

In the past few weeks, the Komen foundation has begun notifying local Planned Parenthood programs that their breast cancer initiatives will not be eligible for new grants (beyond existing agreements or plans), according to Planned Parenthood.

Over the past five years, Planned Parenthood health centers with Komen program funding have provided nearly 170,000 of the more than 4 million clinical breast exams performed nationwide at Planned Parenthood health centers. The centers have also provided more than 6,400 out of 70,000 mammogram referrals with the funding. Komen grants totaled roughly $680,000 last year and $580,000 the year before, Planned Parenthood said.

Planned Parenthood attributed the Komen's decision to pressure from antiabortion activists, the Associated Press reported, while Komen said the reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress. A probe has been launched by U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) to investigate the organization for possibly using taxpayer money to pay for abortions.

In the 24 hours after Komen's announcement, Planned Parenthood received more than $400,000 from 6,000 donors, the organization said.

In a response to criticism of the action posted on its website, the Komen foundation said that it was "dismayed and extremely disappointed that actions we have taken to strengthen our granting process have been widely mischaracterized."

Starting in 2010, the Komen foundation began an initiative to improve its ability to measure the impact of community grants, Komen said in its statement. Following this review, the organization made the decision to implement stronger performance criteria for its grantees -- including more stringent eligibility standards to safeguard donor dollars.

"We regret that these new policies have impacted some longstanding grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are not about politics," Komen said.