Generally, I am not one to boycott products simply because companies might have donated at one point or another to some cause I disagree with. I eat Heinz Ketchup, shop at Nordstrom, and, sometimes, I even go to Taco Bell. I do avoid drinking Pepsi at all cost, but that has more to do with my dedication to Coca-Cola than anything else.
But I draw the line at straight up donating my money to charities that even menially support an organization I actively oppose. Financial support for any organization that contributes to Planned Parenthood is more than I can stomach.
If you followed the Student Fed/Relay for Life debacle, you might recall many popular charities seem to support Planned Parenthood. If you do happen to be a product boycotter who opposes abortion, you may be interested in adding Microsoft, Forever 21, KitchenAid, Hunter Boot, Bank of America, and Major League Baseball to your boycott list. All these companies donate time, talent or treasure to The Susan G. Komen Foundation. This foundation has been searching for the cure to breast cancer for the last thirty years. However, it contributes to Planned Parenthood. Its contributions are for breast health services, but many Planned Parenthood clinics do not even offer breast screenings.
Last week, The Susan G. Komen Foundation pulled its support of Planned Parenthood. The foundation claims that its original decision was not a political move, but rather a way to provide more women with access to mammograms. Unfortunately, this decision was met with incredible public upheaval and resulted in many people frantically donating to Planned Parenthood. The decision has since been reversed, leading to the resignation of the organization’s Vice President, Karen Handel, who said she finds Planned Parenthood’s motives “disturbing.”
I am disappointed in the Susan G. Komen Foundation. My Grandmother died of breast cancer, and I have always hoped for the opportunity to donate money to an otherwise good organization without supporting Planned Parenthood and its ideology. They gave me that hope for a short time, but caved to pressure and took that hope from me and millions of other pro-life Americans.