"Pink Money"

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but before you buy that pink wristband, there’s something you need to know.

The leading organization behind the pink ribbon campaign is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. As the largest recipient of nonprofit funds going toward breast cancer research, Komen attracts donors committed to finding a cure for the disease – a mission we wholeheartedly support. But in a counterproductive twist, Komen is also funding a group that actually promotes a cause of breast cancer. That cause is abortion, and that group is Planned Parenthood.

At least 22 states have Komen affiliates that send donor money straight to Planned Parenthood. Last year, that added up to $731,000. For the past five years, the number reached a staggering $3 million. With Komen’s leadership holding close ties to Planned Parenthood – several having served in advisory capacities or as key supporters – it’s no surprise that both groups deny the impact of abortion on women’s health. But the evidence doesn’t lie, and a growing collection of studies are revealing that the single most avoidable risk factor for breast cancer is abortion.

In 2007, for example, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons published a study calling abortion “the best predictor of breast cancer.” In 2009, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that women who have an abortion increase their risk of breast cancer by 40 percent.

When Komen chooses to send resources to Planned Parenthood – whether for breast screenings or anything else – they are enabling those facilities to use other dollars to promote and perform abortions. That’s not something I’m comfortable with, and if you’re not either, I encourage you to choose an alternative. The Polycarp Research Institute is one of alternatives making significant advances in the field.

We’ve also assembled some helpful information documenting the Komen/Planned Parenthood relationship and an enlightening TV episode of Facing Life Head-On that explains the connection between abortion and breast cancer. Please share this research with others and, in doing so, help us keep Pink Money from becoming blood money.

Sincerely,

Bradley Mattes
Executive Director
Life Issues Institute

P.S. Women need to know that abortion causes more problems – even increasing their risk for breast cancer – than it solves. Please help us get the word out by supporting our important work.

[from Life Issues Institute October 15 eNewsletter. Thanks to Stephanie for passing the info on]