Tough One (UPDATED!)

UPDATE! After the massive public outcry and deluge of high-profile donors pulling out, Komen has reversed it's decision to defund Planned Parenthood. Good news, but their official statements are packed with caveats and CYA language that leaves things open for them to try and pull the same shit in another form later on. Frankly, I don't think I'll be giving them any more money myself until they purge the pro-life nutters from their leadership ranks. But that's just me.

ORIGINAL POST:
For a variety of reasons I'm a bit more cautious about approaching politics and/or muckraking related to cancer research - breast cancer research in particular - than I am about similar goings-on with other issues. Also, believe it or not I do try to consider that any attraction to allegations of malefeasance by supposed charitable organizations might need to be second-guessed; since it plays waaaay too well into my natural trust-nobody/fuck-the-world cynicism.

WARNING! POLITICAL STUFF AFTER THE JUMP:


This is partially why I haven't done any posting about the buzz-gathering documentary "Pink Ribbons Inc;" which bills itself as an expose of unflattering practices by the ubiquitous Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity - chiefly alleging that the organization has become more concerned with it's role as a corporate-synergized "brand" than actively seeking a cure. I'll confess, I've often felt that seeing the yearly deluge of Komen-branded "pink products" to be a bit on the tacky side however well-intentioned... but I wasn't totally as comfortable with this particular "go get `em!" as I was with, say, a whack or five at PeTA.

But given recent events, it feels like I have to agree that this organization - at the very least, it's LEADERSHIP - needs some major scrutiny. So here's the trailer:



The film has, of course, jumped back into buzz-territory as of yesterday; when SGK stunned and outraged many of it's longtime supporters by announcing they would cease all funding of breast cancer screenings performed at Planned Parenthood facilities - one of the top resources for such screenings for low-income women in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, this comes not long after the foundation raised eyebrows by appointing virulent anti-abortion zealot (and failed gubernatorial candidate) Karen Handel to Vice President of Public Policy. So... yeah, the whole thing stinks to high heaven so far as I can see.

I'm sure there's already no shortage of petitions and protest sites associated with this, but given how new the happenings are I'm not looking to post them just yet - again, cautious about these things... but speaking only for myself I feel placed in an ideologically-awkward position. I'm pro-choice for the exact same reasons I want to find a cure for breast cancer: I care about women's health, and I can't really fathom how one could be decoupled from the other.

So... yeah. That's the trailer, them's the facts, make of it what you will.