Reform Movement Speaks Up as Komen De-Funds Planned Parenthood
February 1, 2012 
41 Comments
Yesterday, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it would cease all funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In response, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Marla Feldman, Executive Director of Women of Reform Judaism, sent the following letter to Ambassador Nancy Brinker, Komen’s founder and CEO:
Dear Ambassador Brinker,
On behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism whose 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, with membership of more than 1800 Reform rabbis, and the Women of Reform Judaism, which represents more than 65,000 women in nearly 500 women’s groups in North America and around the world, we write to express our disappointment in Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to halt its longstanding partnership with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, thereby withholding funds to fight breast cancer where they are most needed.
Komen for the Cure has helped hundreds of thousands of women in the fight against breast cancer, and has educated millions, bringing the once taboo and closeted subject of breast cancer into the public domain. Indeed, the global impact that you and Komen for the Cure have had was precisely why we were so pleased to bestow upon you the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award at our recent Biennial convention. And this is why we are so deeply disappointed by Komen’s decision to cease funding mammograms provided by PPFA in the face of a politically-motivated investigation unrelated to PPFA’s breast cancer screenings for vulnerable women.
At the same December Biennial, the Women of Reform Judaism honored PPFA President Cecile Richards and applauded PPFA’s work to advance women’s health. It is painful for us now to see politics and partisanship interfere with and undermine efforts to support women who lack the resources they need for preventive medical services like mammograms. Each year Planned Parenthood’s network of more than 800 clinics nationwide provides nearly 830,000 breast exams. PPFA has stated that, over the past five years, 170,000 of the centers’ 4 million breast exams conducted were a direct result of Komen grants. Halting Komen grant money to PPFA is contrary to your organization’s mission and interests, directly and unfairly threatening the health and safety of women.
Upon accepting the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award, you told the story of two women, one Palestinian and one Israeli, marching together to combat breast cancer in the first Race for the Cure in Israel. You explained with admiration that, in the course of the walk, they were able to forget the political climate that divided them and they bonded instead over the common cause of women’s health. We now urge Komen to follow their example by rejecting efforts to sow division among women’s health advocates and providers and refusing to sacrifice the lives of women on the altar of political ideology.
We understand that this funding decision comes from a new standard employed by Komen for the Cure that defunds organizations under government investigation. While we understand the desire to have an objective policy in place, this particular standard is misguided, threatening more than just grants to PPFA. We believe there are less partisan ways to accomplish your goals. For example, a standard that is linked to investigations carried out by law enforcement is more likely to be free of partisanship. The standard that Komen has established allows Komen’s funding decisions to be dictated by the political whims, partisanship and pet issues of individual members of Congress, who persuade their committees to launch an investigation. This new standard may appear to extricate Komen from politicization, yet in reality it leaves the group open to even greater politicization.
We urge you to use your leadership in Komen for the Cure to reinstate funding to PPFA for breast cancer screening, to reconsider the standard by which the organization makes funding decisions, and to continue to fight for the health and lives of women everywhere.
We look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Rabbi Marla Feldman, Executive Director of the Women of Reform Judaism
It’s my understanding Komen funds grants that help pay for mammograms. They will now reconsider funding grants written by Planned Parenthood but that doesn’t mean all grants get funded. Please correct me if I am wrong. As a Jewish women I believe being pro choice does not make me pro abortion.
That is true – the changed funding standards now mean that an organization will be ineligible for funding if they are under criminal, as opposed to Congressional, investigation. We can only hope that Komen’s grant-making processes reflect its organizational mission, and will remain removed from politics, continuing to fund and fight for women’s health.
I am so pleased with this prompt and powerful response from our leadership. Thank you for standing up — again — for what is right.
The RAC is absolutely right. Planned Parenthood does not use federal funds for abortion.The whole thing is an attempt to force right wing thing on everybody. Who died and made them GOD. Stop trying to force us to obey your “HOLY” law!
The decision to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood is selfish, and immoral.
I don’t have strong opinion regarding such screening, except when it is done by the family planning groups who themselves may elevate cancer risks, G-d forbid, by promoting delay of giving birth to after 30 years and use of hormones, both are known cancer risks. So eliminating family planning groups should help avoid many cancers.
http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/12/does-breast-cancer-screening-help-or-harm.html
Does breast cancer screening help or harm?
Dear World.
If you care about breast cancer and planned parenthood. Write them a check directly.
Giving money to the Komen foundation and taking part in these walks is ridiculous to begin with. Only 23.5% of the money raised goes to research. http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2010/10/sink_pink.single.html
And then there is the obscene amounts of corporate greed that goes along with all breast cancer commodification. The NFB has a movie coming out starting tomorrow. http://blog.nfb.ca/2012/01/25/catch-lea-pools-pink-ribbons-inc-in-a-theatre-near-you-feb-3/?ec=en20120201
It’s an eye-opener.
Thank you for the quick and thoughtful reply. The decision by Komen is entirely political and prays on the misinformation and perceptions of Planned Parenthood. It is comforting to know that I stand with an organization that will not allow partisan politics to prevent it from doing what is right.
The RAC and WRJ certainly do speak for this Reform Jew! Thank you for a prompt and articulate response on this issue.
Thank you for standing with Planned Parenthood!
I am terribly disappointed by the action of the Komen Foundation. With its world-wide funding mechanism and visibility I did not think they would cave-in to the anti-choice voices in this country. To think that the anti-choice forces are putting at risk many women who depend on Planned Parenthood’s breast screening services is deplorable. When will women’s health be free of political machinations?
Thanks to URJ for speaking out on the I’ll-advised Komen decision to take away thousands of women’s access to high quality, affordable, preventive breast care. I do hope they reconsider their decision quickly.
I appreciate the fast response to the Komen Foundation actions. However I think that the response was not strong enough. I think an indication of redirecting the Reform movement’s support from Komen to Planned Parenthood is called for in this case. Words are not enough, action is needed. Thank you.
First, kudos to the RAC for this letter. Secondly, I find it interesting that all the comments AGAINST the letter thus far come from men…. Lastly, “Steve”, get your facts straight: NO money from the federal government to Planned Parenthood funds abortions. The obscenity in the anti-choice agenda and actions is that they are trying to kill Planned Parenthood by de-funding the other 95%+ of the work they do (like breast cancer screenings and birth-control) since they can’t attack the right of choice directly, thanks to Roe vs. Wade.
Why should Rabbi Saperstein care? Planned Parenthood is a nuisance organization that lies through its teeth about what it does. Every “good” think PP does, my local county health department does – and does with greater honesty and integrity.
The ancient people of Israel – even in its most liberal, “reformed” branch – ought to have greater sense than this demonstrates.
My friend The Crescat puts it quite succinctly:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thecrescat/2012/02/why-the-hell-should-liberals-care-that-susan-g-komen-cut-off-funding-to-planned-parenthood.html
I appreciate the voice of RAC, which can express the outrage of this action much more loudly than my single voice. To say nothing is a lesson we’ve learned before and I hope each person who is disgusted by this political buckling will voice it. Regarding the argument that RAC has “stepped too far” when speaking for all members of Reform congregations, the tenants outlined by the history of the CCRA and WRJ support reproductive rights and it is important to voice opinion on a large scale. That is the moral thing to do; to voice opinion based on organizational values. Never will there be 100% consensus within any organization; that is the beauty of the individual human being and our diversity. I have always taken pride in the overall Reform Jewish fluidity and examination of issue examination. It is the right of a woman do make decisions that effect her life forever. This issue is a product of modern society where people need something outside their own lives to feel passionate about and choose to be passionate about a stranger’s life they know absolutely nothing about, but think they do. This kind of energy reminds me of Terry Shivo. So much passion and protest over her life when around the corner are Head Start schools, churches and synagogues, social service agencies, all yearning for big brother/big sister mentors to make an impact on the children born that need all the passion, cheerleading, and support in order to grow and thrive. Now that is doing something to save a life.
Here’s why the Rabbi cares: women’s health. It doesn’t matter that your county offers similar programs – there are not enough such programs to cover all of our needs. Your bias (nuisance) is showing and you picked a particularly strange word to express it.
“Upon accepting the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award, you told the story of two women, one Palestinian and one Israeli, marching together to combat breast cancer in the first Race for the Cure in Israel. You explained with admiration that, in the course of the walk, they were able to forget the political climate that divided them and they bonded instead over the common cause of women’s health. We now urge Komen to follow their example by rejecting efforts to sow division among women’s health advocates and providers and refusing to sacrifice the lives of women on the altar of political ideology.”
I just wanted to write and express my sincere appreciation for your letter to Nancy Brinker. You expressed all of the thoughts that have been swarming in my head today, but in a much more articulate format! I hope other organizations take your lead to pressure Komen to make a different choice about severing their partnership with Planned Parenthood. They could be “under investigation” forever, and therefore never again qualify for critical grant money from Komen. Thank you for making me extra proud to be a Reform Jewish woman today.
If you want to fund PP, give them your money. Komen’s charter is cancer research, not “handling” “unplanned” pregnancies. Don’t drag Komen’s name through the mud for trying to SAVE LIVES.
I appreciate URJ’s speed and thoroughness in representing my own horror at Komen’s action. I’m not so sure that the conciliatory tone taking the policy at face value is appropriate. How about a public statement appealing for donations to PP and even for more focus on the unmet screening needs of uninsured women?
We survivors want more company…
Yasher koach, RAC, and thank you.
I am proud of Rabbi Sapperstein, the Religious Action Center and the Union of Reform Judaism for their quick response to such an egregious attack on women.
I hope one day that the American Conference of Cantors is included in such a list of prominence, admiration and respect when it comes to influence and leadership, particularly when so many cantors in our movement today are women.
Bimheira v’yameinu
Well said, Brad… well said.
Perfectly stated. Thank you for expressing what I was thinking so beautifully.
Thank you Rabbi Saperstein, I agree fully!
really bad decision and particularly bsd timing REVERSE COURSE PLEASE
Komen has just *unfunded* itself from my tzedaqah list. I plan to consolidate the gifting I was going to make to Komen, to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Foundation instead.
Check out the role Karen Handel played in pressuring Susan B. Komen. She ran for Govenor of GA in 2010 and lost. She is anti abortion.
Please be careful about repeating the “big lie” as it eventually becomes “common knowledge”. Using federal funds for abortions is not legal in this country and our government has multiple layers of regulations and annual compliance audits to be assured that Planned Parenthood never uses federal funds for abortions. Planned Parenthood does not use federal funds for abortions. The current congressional investigation is politically motivated. Every time the government investigates Planned Parenthood (which it does repeatedly) the investigation flounders with lack of findings. Furthermore, over 95% of Planned Parenthood visits are for pap smears, breast exams, HIV tests and other primary reproductive health care services. The overwhelming majority of Planned Parenthood clients are young women below the age for whom annual mammograms are recommended. Manual breast exams can reveal lumps in young women which would otherwise go undetected. The overwhelming majority of Planned Parenthood clients have no other access to health care services. The Republican Party is waging a campaign against Planned Parenthood to fire up their base to get them to the polls in November. We should be very careful not to fall for these tactics.
Rabbi Saperstein is more tolerant than I would be. I do not understand or empathize with SGK’s adopted policy to withdraw support from organizations “under investigation.” Investigation by whom? Let the witch-hunters themselves be investigated. Or, as a famous Jew said some 2,000 years ago, “Let one who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Bless you.
… but planned parenthood DOES NOT PROVIDE MAMMOGRAMS. And http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives shows that MANY cancers are more likely with the use of oral contraceptives.
It was, therefore, counterintuitive that Komen would fund PP.
No, but they DO PROVIDE BREAST SCREENINGS AND REFERRALS TO SPECIALISTS, just like Doctors do.
If Komen was solidly about women’s health and cancer – they would be happy to fund screenings that help prevent cancer and further treatment.
I am very disappointed that the URJ is getting involved in an issue like this. You DO NOT speak for all Reform Jews, and you risk alienating a segment of your members that do not agree with this position.
Mike,
I agree with you 100% and am troubled with the direction of Reform Judaism speaking for me. While I am pro-choice, I am 100% against using my tax dollars to pay for abortions. Reform Judaism should be focused on respecting everyone’s opinions whether they agree with it or not.
Actually, John, they do speak for Reform Jews, on this an many other compelling issues. Check out the long and proud record of our movement on reproductive choice:
In a 1935 resolution, Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) expressed their support for the lifting of bans on the dissemination of birth control literature. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) followed with their 1947 Resolution on Birth Control, followed by a URJ resolution in 1950. In 1965, WRJ passed a resolution concerning Judaism and the Family, stating, “We appeal for liberalization of the abortion laws of the various States and urge our United States constituents to work toward this end.”
The URJ continued its commitment to reproductive health with resolutions in 1967, 1975, 1981, and 1990 , stating in 1975 that “in any decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy, the individual family or woman must weigh the tradition as she struggles to formulate her own religious and moral criteria to reach her own personal decision….We oppose all constitutional amendments that would abridge or circumscribe this right.” The URJ also passed a resolution on fetal tissue research in 1993.
The CCAR went on record in 1967, 1975, 1980,1991, 1993, and 1995, affirming the “right of a woman or individual family to terminate a pregnancy” and stating that the CCAR “opposes amendments and legislation which would abridge or circumscribe this right.”
Great statement! Another reason why I am so proud to support the RAC!
Thank you for writing this thoughtful and articulate letter. We stand with you for the rights and health of all women, regardless of political, social or financial status!
I find it deplorable that the Susan G Komen foundation would choose to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood, thereby endangering its mission if not its image. However, I would suggest that the RAC’s involvement in this particular issue is somewhat misplaced. The foundation has the right, as does every group in the US, to choose the activities in which it engages and the political direction which it will take. Looking at the executive personnel list of the foundation, it doesn’t appear to be an accident that this has happened, and even when we disagree with it we should respect their right to do it. To automatically attempt to speak for all members of Reform congregations in the US, a varied and politically diverse group, is a step too far in this matter. We can just as easily speak for Judaism and our obligation toward the women (and men!) with breast cancer by instead outlining other charities with good records to whom our members can donate instead of the Susan G Komen foundation. I would find this far more useful and productive than trying to engage in a firefight which no-one will win. Anti-choice activists can use the controversy to gain support of their own. Let’s focus on ways in which we can do *good*. The more money and support goes elsewhere, the less impact this recent action will have.
Victor, I think you missed the fact that our movement gave our most prestigious award – the Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award – to Ambassador Brinker in December at the Biennial in Washington. Over 5,000 Reform Jews were in attendance. When we give our seal of approval on an organization or a person, we have an obligation to make sure we made the right decision, and use our position to encourage those organizations to stay the course for which we gave them the award in the first place. I thought the RAC letter was measured, appropriate, and on target.