After breast cancer non-profit Susan G. Komen for the Cure made the controversial decision to withdraw funding to Planned Parenthood, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to help make up the difference.
Bloomberg pledged today to match each dollar raised by Planned Parenthood Federation of America up to $250,000.
His donation announcement comes after the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation cut its ties with Planned Parenthood by declining to renew about $700,000 in annual funding towards breast cancer screenings at the reproductive health clinics.
“Politics have no place in health care. Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care,” the billionaire Bloomberg said. “We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way.”
“On behalf of hundreds of thousands of women nationwide who rely on Planned Parenthood for breast cancer education and screening, we are enormously grateful to Mayor Bloomberg,” Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.
“People all across the country have stepped forward in the last 48 hours to offer help and support, and the Mayor’s donation will help ensure that no woman is denied breast cancer services because of right-wing political pressure campaigns.”
The Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation came under fire for cutting the funding by those who believed the charity succumbed to political pressure over abortions, which are performed at some Planned Parenthood clinics. Today, though, the foundation denied that politics had anything to do with its decision.
“We will never bow to political pressure,” Komen founder Nancy Brinker said. “Regrettably, this strategic shift will affect any number of long-standing partners. But we have always done what is right for our organization, for our donors and volunteers.”
