There was an especially poignant article in the Detroit News
this morning titled: WHY I’M SITTING OUT THIS YEAR’S ‘RACE FOR THE CURE’.
As you all know, this is the Susan G. Komen Foundation event
to help find a cure for breast cancer; a very, very righteous goal.
And as many of you also know, the foundation found itself in
a lot of trouble when its leadership decided to bow to political/religious
right-wing pressure and stop funding the work of Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood was targeted because one of its services
is to provide abortions for those who want one. This is only a tiny portion of
the medical services that they provide and a big service is breast exams to
women who cannot afford one.
I am a big supported of efforts to find a cure for breast
cancer and especially since my sister Barb has had the cancer and is a survivor
after a mastectomy.
The author of this article, Jenn MCKEE is and has been a
great supporter, participating in Races for the Cure for two decades, having
lost a mother to the disease.
BUT she is not running this time because even though the
Komen Foundation had reversed its decision to cut off support to Planned
Parenthood and eventually fired the CEO who pushed for the decision, the fact
that the decision was made in the first place, has tarnished their image to the
point where their best and most loyal supporters, cannot bring themselves and
their consciences to forgive and forget.
Although this whole affair is very, very sad especially for
the people with breast cancer, the growing awareness that conservative
politicians and religious leaders are engaged in a war against women and their
welfare can no longer be denied…it is a blatant fact and must be fought
anywhere and everywhere it is detected and the Komen Foundation is a place to
start and to set an example that actions against women will not be tolerated by
women and those of us that love those women.
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