A campaign to raise funds for the breast screening of lesbians in Atlanta will continue, despite a U-turn on the decision by a cancer charity to scrap its planned cut in grants to breast cancer care programs, advocates said on Friday.
The Health Initiative agency started the fundraising effort to help provide screenings for lesbians with no health insurance, after the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cancer charity decided to abolish its funding for Planned Parenthood health centres earlier this week. The charity argued that it could not give grants to organisations that were under government investigation - as Planned Parenthood was following an inquiry by a Florida congressman into whether it had spent public funds on abortion projects.
The cancer charity reversed its decision on Friday, saying it would now honour current and potential future funding for the Planned Parenthood centres. But the Health Initiative says it will continue its fundraising efforts, Project Q Atlanta reports.
“We want to apologise to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives,” Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s chief executive, Nancy Brinker, said in a statement. “We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants.”
Lynda Ellis, executive director of the Health Initiative, praised the charity for its change of heart. But she told Project Q Atlanta: “It doesn’t change our goal to raise funds to cover the cost of breast exams and other health screenings for uninsured LGBT individuals through Planned Parenthood and our other partners.”
Anti-abortion groups opposed the U-turn in policy by Susan G. Komen for the cure, according to the New York Times.
“It’s mystifying how an organisation can fully articulate sound reasons for eliminating a funding relationship, then turn around and capitulate on that reasoning within days,” Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family said in a statement.
