Planned Parenthood donations spike after Susan G. Komen pulls funding

Planned Parenthood has seen a major uptick in donations after the Susan G. Komen foundation cut off funding to the organization earlier this week. In the past twenty-four hours, $650,000 has poured in from supporters, almost enough money to counterbalance the loss of support from the Komen foundation. "People respond powerfully when they see politics interfering with women's health," said a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. "That's why we've seen a tremendous outpouring of support." 

On the flip side, experts project that the Komen foundation could lose up to half of its funding from donors who were upset by the decision. Critics have accused the organization of bowing to political pressure from pro-life groups in spite of a statement saying, "Grant-making decisions are not about politics — our priority is and always will be the women we serve."

A spokesperson for one local Planned Parenthood chapter said, "We typically don't get a ton [of private donations]," but after twenty or thirty came in on Wednesday, "this is probably the biggest reaction we've seen." 

I'm not sure if having funding yanked from an influential breast-cancer organization is really the best answer here, but it's nice to see people turning out in support of Planned Parenthood. Here's hoping we can reach a point sooner rather than later where no one actually thinks twice about getting behind a women's health organization.