In a perfect world, freedom wouldn't be an issue. We would all be free to make decisions and do things that we love; however, we clearly don't live in a perfect world. That idea became crystal clear this past week when the Komen Foundation was forced to cave to the outcries and intimidation of Planned Parenthood.
In a perfect world, the Komen Foundation, which recieves no federal funding, would be free to give money to whatever organization it wished. Planned Parenthood seems to think that it's entitled to Komen's money simply because they want it and because it has been given to them in the past. I applauded the strong stand that Komen took against funding abortions. Komen is an organization dedicated to the eradication of breast cancer, not the funding of killing innocent children. I was really taken aback at the very vicious, vitriolic attack on the Komen Foundation by Planned Parenthood. Is this really what our country has digressed to? Do we really feel justified in villifiying and trying to destroy another person or organization because they make us angry. Apparently, this is exactly what Planned Parenthood thinks. The moment Komen made the announcement that they would no longer extend funds to Planned Parenthood, they were attacked by the very liberal left. To accuse an organization such as Komen of not caring about the health of women is beyond the pale, especially given all they do to raise funds for breast cancer research. It should be noted that breast cancer is the primary targer of the Komen Foundation, not women's health in general. Planned Parenthood certainly has the right to express disappointment, perhaps even anger, at loosing this funding, but it has no right to set out to destroy an organization that works tirelessly to find a cure for breast cancer.
Let me put the argument in the form of an analogy. Let's say that Organization 1 sells a certain product door-to-door. This organization depends on individuals buying their products in order to function, so it's reasonable to assume that they will return to those homes that support the organization by buying the product every year. Let's also say that one year the person who always buys a large number of the product decides not to purchase any. This makes Organization 1 very angry, and the organization immediately proceeds to destroy the person who decided not to purchas the product. I think we would all say that the person has the right not purchase the product; the person isn't obligated to purchase the product just because he has done so in the past. But this is exactly the tactic Planned Parenthood has adopted.
Unfortunately, Komen caved to the pressure of an organization that , at its roots, was established to weed out the "undesirables" of society on the grounds that some women would not be able to have mammograms. Planned Parenthood doesn't own any mammography equipment; it outsources mammograms. Additionally, the number of mammograms funded by Planned Parenthood doesn't add up the amount of money contributed by the Komen Foundation.
There is a flaw in the argument; the bully pulpit has only recently been the acceptable approach. No one likes a bully, especially one who receives federal funding. So, it greives my heart when a noble organization such as Komen caves to bullies. In a perfect world, Komen would have stood firm, and Planned Parenthood would have looked for other donors.
