Last week there was a large uproar in the United States because of a decision the Susan G. Komen foundation made to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. The foundation, which hopes to find a cure to breast cancer, decided to stop providing grant money to the abortion provider because it was unable to track the way the monies were being spent. The grants given were supposed to be for breast cancer screenings, but many Planned Parenthood locations do not even provide that service. Additionally, since the organization is under investigation by the federal government Komen felt it was best to remove the money.
The decision was met with the expected applause from some and dissent from others. Except those that cried foul were so loud and vociferous that the Komen foundation reversed its decision and will once again be funding Planned Parenthood. The waffling of Komen strikes me as the act of a coward. The coward is one who backs down when faced with opposition. The coward is one who has no backbone and is easily swayed by opinion of others. The Komen foundation must have known that its decision would be met with disapproval. This couldn’t have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. So, why change its decision? Cowardice.
This uproar and debacle has also further solidified my opinion in the importance of social media and sharing your opinion. Imagine how different this could have turned out if everyone who applauded the decision was as out-spoken as everyone who disapproved. The whole thing could have turned out so differently. The Komen Foundation’s decision could have started a domino effect of other organizations pulling their funding as well. If only.