By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Bishop Leonard Blair of the Diocese of Toledo has issued a letter to all parishes instructing them to direct their fundraising efforts to local breast cancer centers rather than contribute to the Susan G. Komen Foundation because of its affiliation with Planned Parenthood and the possibility that it could become involved in embryonic stem cell research.
“For some time, moral questions have been raised from various quarters about the research funded by the Komen Foundation,” Bishop Blair said in the letter. “The bishops of Ohio have discussed this and have looked into the matter. As best we can determine, at present the Komen Foundation does not fund cancer research that employs embryonic stem cells. However, their policy does not exclude that possibility. They are open to embryonic stem cell research, and may very well fund such research in the future.”
He also stated that the organization contributes to Planned Parenthood, “which, though it may claim to provide needed medical services to poor women, is also the largest provider of abortions in our country. In order to avoid even the possibility of cooperation in morally unacceptable activities, the other Bishops and I believe that it would be wise to find alternatives to Komen for Catholic fundraising efforts.”
Mary Westphal, executive director of the Northwest Ohio Affiliate Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and board chairman Angie Ash told the Toledo Blade that they were “extremely disappointed” in Bishop Blair’s decision. She said neither the bishop nor diocesan officials called or met with them to discuss their concerns.
However, a spokesman for the national Komen Foundation acknowledged that if it received a request to fund embryonic stem-cell research, it would be considered.
Andrea Rader, senior communications writer for the Komen Foundation at its Dallas headquarters, said that while the organization has not funded stem-cell research in the past, its policies “do not preclude” it from doing so.
“If we received a request to fund such research, we would weigh it very carefully, as we do all of our research proposals, for its likelihood to have a positive impact on breast cancer research and treatment,” Ms. Rader said by e-mail.
Their affiliation with Planned Parenthood is well-known. A Komen spokesman told LifeNews.com last year that they contributed about $3.3 million to the abortion giant from 2004 to 2009. Although Ms. Westphal claims the local Komen affiliate has never given a dollar to Planned Parenthood, she claims that the national office screens Planned Parenthood records twice a year to be sure all of their donations go to fund breast health projects rather than abortion.
However, it is difficult to accurately assess the allocation of contributions, and providing funds for other Planned Parenthood services only frees up more money to be invested in abortion.
The diocese did issue a clarification of their position, saying that the bishop’s letter is neither a condemnation, censure, nor–as the Blade claimed–a “ban” on the Komen Foundation. “Individual Catholics who want to contribute to Komen locally can continue to do so on the basis of Komen’s assurance that no local funds go to Planned Parenthood or to embryonic stem cell research. However, there are some who in good faith continue to have misgivings about Komen’s association with Planned Parenthood and its openness to embryonic stem cell research. For that reason the Bishops of Ohio determined, as Bishop Blair says, that “in order to avoid even the possibility of cooperation in morally unacceptable activities…fundraising activities carried out under Catholic auspices, including our schools, should be channeled” elsewhere.”
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