Davis Merritt: Komen decision creates worst of all worlds

If the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation believes it is not in its interest to work with organizations that have anything to do with abortions, it should simply so declare.

As controversial as that stance might be, it would at least be honest, and the organization and its good works would survive over time. Instead, for reasons deeply shrouded in mumbo jumbo and public relations incompetence, it has created the worst of all possible worlds.

The foundation that has raised almost $2 billion and painted the country pink in the search for a cure for breast cancer denies that it caved in to anti-abortion forces when it announced it would stop distributing funds to Planned Parenthood for screenings for poor women.

But its emotional protestations to the contrary have the feel of the arrogance common to many highly successful organizations.

When you are so powerful a force that you can persuade professional football players to wear pink shoes, socks and gloves; can cause basketball teams – male and female – to wear pink uniforms; can cover the nation’s cars and businesses and chests and wrists in pink ribbons; and can even cause some newspapers to print their front pages in pink ink; you begin to believe that you are special enough to exist beyond reasonable challenge.

That’s the only context in which the foundation’s stated reasons for stiffing Planned Parenthood can be understood.

The foundation’s spokeswoman, Leslie Aun, said that the board of directors had approved a new policy that “applicants or their affiliates that are under formal investigation by local, state or federal authorities … will be ineligible.” The policy also notes that if the investigation finds no wrongdoing they can be reinstated.

So much for presumed innocence.

So much for any other organization that is displeasing for any reason to any single member of Congress, any county commissioner anywhere in the country, any rogue sheriff or ambitious district attorney or attorney general in any state.

And, of course, so much for Planned Parenthood, which is constantly under attack from many people on the above list.

The Komen action took place in the context of two other facts – neither of which was considered, the foundation insists:

Komen founder Nancy Brinker, in a statement on the foundation website, did not mention Planned Parenthood or abortion and made no serious attempt to explain the foundation’s reasoning. Instead, she relied on the $2 billion emotional pitch: “The scurrilous accusations being hurled against this organization are profoundly hurtful to so many of us, but more importantly, they are a dangerous distraction from the work that still remains to be done….”

No, the distraction is self-inflicted by poor policy and public relations judgment and the real hurt will fall upon breast cancer victims who, whether through Komen’s work or that of Planned Parenthood, will have less support than they might have enjoyed.

This story was originally published February 3, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Davis Merritt: Komen decision creates worst of all worlds."