ATLANTA (AP) — An executive at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity resigned Tuesday over her support to strip Planned Parenthood of funding, but disputed that she was the driving force behind the decision that created a firestorm of criticism last week.
Karen Handel,
the charity's vice president for public policy, said in her resignation
later she was "deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of
the strategy, its rationale, and her involvement."
Handel
said the discussion to cut funding for Planned Parenthood started
before she came to the group last year, and was approved at the highest
levels of the charity. However, a person with direct knowledge of
decision-making at Komen's headquarters said Handel was a driving force
behind the move.
Handel
supported a decision Komen announced to exclude Planned Parenthood,
which provides a range of women's health care services including
abortions, from future grants for breast-cancer screenings because it
was under congressional investigation.
"Neither
the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone's
political beliefs or ideology," Handel said in the letter. "Rather, both
were based on Komen's mission and how to better serve women, as well as
a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy."
Handel
said the now-abandoned policy was fully vetted by the Komen
organization. Its board did not raise any objections when it was
presented with the proposed policy in November, Handel said.
Komen Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker said she accepted Handel's resignation and wished her well.
"We
have made mistakes in how we have handled recent decisions and take
full accountability for what has resulted, but we cannot take our eye
off the ball when it comes to our mission," Brinker said in a statement.
"To do this effectively, we must learn from what we've done right, what
we've done wrong and achieve our goal for the millions of women who
rely on us."
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Andrea Hagelgans declined to comment on the resignation.
The
breast cancer charity cited a probe backed by anti-abortion groups and
launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., to determine if Planned
Parenthood improperly spent public money on abortions. Planned
Parenthood says taxpayer money is strictly separated.
The
breast cancer charity reversed course after its decision created a
three-day firestorm of criticism. Members of Congress and Komen
affiliates accused the group's national leadership of bending to
pressure from anti-abortion activists. Brinker denied the accusation.
Until Tuesday, Handel had publicly kept silent about her role in the dispute.
In her letter, she said the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood was long a concern to Komen officials.
"Neither
the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone's
political beliefs or ideology," Handel said in the letter. "Rather, both
were based on Komen's mission and how to better serve women, as well as
a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy."
A
person with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen's headquarters
in Dallas said the grant-making criteria were adopted with the
deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria's
impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government
investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.
According
to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Handel, who was hired
by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a
campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion
views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.
Brinker, in an interview with MSNBC last week, said Handel didn't have a significant role in the policy change.
Handel,
a Republican, ran for Georgia governor in 2010, received an endorsement
from former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
But Handel lost a primary runoff to former Georgia Rep. Nathan Deal, who
won the general election.
Throughout the campaign, Deal accused Handel of being soft on abortion.
Deal
repeatedly attacked Handel over a 2005 vote she took while serving on a
metro Atlanta county commission to give more than $400,000 to Planned
Parenthood, though not for abortion services. The Georgia affiliate of
Planned Parenthood said the money went to a downtown clinic for services
such as cervical cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted
diseases and birth controls.
A
longstanding law bans using federal money to pay for abortions except in
cases of rape, incest or to protect the health of the mother.
Anti-abortion activists in Georgia praised Handel's decision.
"I commend her for it," said Daniel Becker, president of the Georgia Right to Life.
He
said the organization still had concerns about Handel's belief that
women who are raped or victims of incest should be allowed to seek
abortions.
___
AP National Writer David Crary contributed to this story.
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