Planned Parenthood backers cry foul over Komen decision

He won’t be sporting that pink tie anymore.

California state Sen. Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat, has volunteered for years as one of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure “Pink Tie Guys,” who wear the ties at public events to raise awareness about breast cancer.

On Wednesday, after learning that the foundation would stop funding Planned Parenthood for breast health services, Padilla announced that his pink tie days were done.

“Komen has placed its supporters in the untenable position of aligning themselves with acquiescence to the agenda of the religious right, or aligning themselves with health care and breast cancer organizations that will not bow to such pressures,” Padilla said in a statement.

“The choice is clear to me. I choose the latter.”

Komen’s decision, made quietly late last year and made public Tuesday, has ignited fury in some and jubilation in others, depending upon their stance on abortion. Public message boards, Twitter and Facebook are flooding with posts supporting or decrying the move.

Online petitions have been established to pressure the Komen foundation to reverse its decision. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has launched a Breast Health Emergency Fund to ensure continued funding to the 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates that will soon lose their Komen grants.

Komen has explained that the defunding decision was due to the foundation’s recently enacted policy to not fund organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. That would disqualify Planned Parenthood, which is the subject of a congressional inquiry begun in September by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., to determine whether it has used federal money to fund abortions, which is forbidden by law.

Komen posted a statement on its website Wednesday saying that it was “dismayed and extremely disappointed that actions we have taken to strengthen our granting process have been widely mischaracterized.”

“We regret that these new policies have impacted some long-standing grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are not about politics,” the statement said.

But critics said they believed the organization had capitulated to anti-abortion pressure.

“The investigation they refer to is politically motivated and bogus,” said Vicki Saporta, president and chief executive of the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion practitioners.

Saporta and others said they suspected a link between Komen’s decision and its appointment last year of a self-described “pro-life Christian” as senior vice president of public policy.

Karen Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, was hired in April following her unsuccessful 2010 run for governor during which she frequently called for an end to abortion. Neither Handel nor others at Komen could be reached for comment Wednesday.