The outrage clearly stunned Komen, the country’s most widely known breast cancer organization. “I think (Komen) has been horrified to be so caught up in this culture war,” said activist Eric Scheidler. Associated Press ADVERTISING NEW YORK — When Dorothy
Associated Press
NEW YORK — When Dorothy Twinney first saw a Race for the Cure walk for breast cancer — “a sea of pink” traveling through her hometown of Plymouth, Mich. — she was so moved she sat in her car and wept.
This week, after watching The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity announce plans to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, then abandon those plans amid a public furor, Twinney decided she was done with the organization for which she raised thousands of dollars on three-day, 60-mile walks that left her feet bloodied and blistered, but her spirits high.
“It just feels like it’s all tarnished now,” the 41-year-old mother of two said. “Honestly, I’m not sure what they can do to change that.”
At week’s end, many longtime Komen supporters were feeling similarly conflicted. Some, depending on where they stood on the hot-button issue of abortion, called it more of a betrayal.
Those who supported Komen’s grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer screenings called the initial move to cut them politically motivated; those opposed to the grants said the same thing about the reversal.
The outrage clearly stunned Komen, the country’s most widely known breast cancer organization. “I think (Komen) has been horrified to be so caught up in this culture war,” said activist Eric Scheidler.
