A big deal

I rarely get caught up in politics to the extent that I engage in public debates with people or that I post something political on my Facebook page.  This week has been an exception.  I've been following the Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to end funding to Planned Parenthood after this year's grant cycle really closely.  Why?  Well, PP means something to me, as does providing women with adequate health care.  I've been to PP before, and I fully support its mission.  It does so much more than offer abortions (in fact, only 3% of its total services are offering abortions), and I've gone to PP when I was new to an area and needed affordable health care.  I've had friends go there for birth control, pap smears, breast exams, and biopsies.  They have all reported receiving quality care and excellent counseling.  Given that most of these friends were uninsured undergrad and grad students at the time they went to PP, they were all thankful to receive such good care at a price they could afford. 

As for the Komen Foundation, there is a history of breast cancer in my family.  My great-grandmother survived breast cancer at a time the only treatment was a mastectomy, radiation, and prayer.  Add to the fact that she lived in a poor mining community in rural Appalachia, and she was damn lucky to survive.  I often think that her life would have been very different if she had access to the kind of health care PP offers women.  My aunt has also survived breast cancer.  I've worn pink ribbons, I've run in many "Race for the Cure" races, and I've supported their mission. 

So I followed the story closely and, perhaps, a bit rabidly.  I posted at least one thing about  on my Facebook page about the story every single day.  I also engaged in a public, albeit civilized, debate with my aunt about the story.  This aunt (who is the same aunt who survived breast cancer) is staunchly pro-life, and she viewed the decision to cut funding to PP as a pro-life decision (as an aside, I find it really interesting that in spite of trying to assure the public that this was not a decision motivated by the abortion debate most of those supporting the Komen Foundation's decision to stop funding PP did so on the basis of being pro-life).  She posted her support for the Komen Foundation, and I questioned the logic of the ruling.  She argued it was "saving lives" by cutting support to an organization that performs abortions, and I argued it was ironic to read the decision to stop providing funds for breast exams and general breast health as life saving in any way.  It was tense, but cordial, and it was telling how much the issue meant to both of us that we even broached it at all.

So it was a big deal to open my web browser and read the following headline: "Komen Cancer charity reverses, will fund Planned Parenthood."  To me, it was a very big deal.