Martinuk: A Liar and a Cheat

Shame on the Calgary Herald for giving a platform to BIG LIES promulgated by the Fetus Lobby, namely *sigh* the 'abortion causes breast cancer' one again.

A writer named Susan Martinuk says:

This means Komen is raising money to fight breast cancer at the same time as it is handing that money to causes that appear to be a contributing cause to that very disease.

Hm. Martinuk, Martinuk, why does that sound familiar?

Oh yeah. A few weeks ago, I was spanking the scientists for hire that fetus fetishists like Maurice Vellacott rely on to spread their bullshit.

Dr Dawg left a link in the comments to some similar spanking he'd done back in July of 2008. Dr Morgentaler had just received the Order of Canada and the forced birthers were going bonkers.

Dr D. was taking this apart for its bogus science. And oh look, it's by Susan Martinuk.

On the breast cancer lie, Dr D said:

I'm amazed that this old canard still has legs, but once again our reliable JPANDS [Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons] is cited--twice! The US National Cancer Institute isn't buying it; neither is the American Cancer Society. As the ACS puts it, " the public is not well-served by false alarms and at the present time, the scientific evidence does not support a causal association between induced abortion and breast cancer."

I went to the old link to see what Martinuk had to say.

In 1996, a paper in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health provided the first real evidence of a connection between abortion and breast cancer. Pooled data from 28 different studies demonstrated that women who had abortions had increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 30 per cent.

Subsequent studies supposedly disproved this association, but a 2005 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons paper showed these studies had methodologies that were sufficiently flawed "to invalidate their findings." And, in 2007, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that induced abortion was the risk factor that best predicted the incidence of breast cancer in European women.

I blinked at that a couple of times, then went to the new link again.

But there is an even bigger problem in Komen’s funding of Planned Parenthood. For the past 15 years, there’s been a growing controversy over the link between induced abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. In 1996, a paper in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health provided the first evidence of a connection between abortion and breast cancer. Pooled data from 28 studies demonstrated that women who had abortions had increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 30 per cent. Subsequent studies supposedly disproved this association, but a 2005 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons paper showed these studies had methodologies that were sufficiently flawed “to invalidate their findings.” And, in 2007, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that induced abortion was the risk factor that best predicted the incidence of breast cancer in European women.

Throw in a couple of new sentences, and presto! A timely article with all the same old discredited crap in it.

So, double shame on the Calgary Herald. Once for printing the crap. Twice for printing -- and presumably paying for -- the same crap three and a half years later.

But really, how surprised should we be that a lying liar like Martinuk is also a cheat?

Oh Snap! Alison at Creekside on Ari, abortion, and alternate universes

Go, go, go. Read Alison at Creekside: Ari, abortion, and alternate universes.

Lots of smackdown and linky goodness.

That Blew up REAL Good!

Sheesh. What a day for my Intertoobz connection to go wonky. It was actually worse than having none. I could read the bloody headlines on Google News but the linkies wouldn't work. I could get into Twitter intermittently, but again the links didn't work.

So. First. WOO-HOO!

For a good parsing of Komen's apparent cave and apology, go read Dr Dawg, who concludes, as we do, that Komen still bears close watching.

That said, let's celebrate while we can. (This is so rare an event, I betcha many of us are wondering which end of those roll-out party noisemaker thingies to blow on.)

Like many commenters, I don't think this reversal was so much a demonstration of the MASSIVE power of social media -- while it was a big factor -- as it was a perfect text-book case for how to blow up a brand 30 years in the making over a period of three days.

To the intense irritation of the Fetus Lobby, the Komen Foundation has always been careful not to link breast cancer and abortion (scroll down here to 'Factors that do not increase breast cancer risk, listed alphabetically', not as in the column beside it, which list factors that do affect risk, listed 'according to level of evidence and strength of association').

In fact, because it wouldn't lie about the science no matter how hard fetus fetishists stamped their widdle feet, there was a Komen boycott spear-headed by the American Life League.

So, while some Komen board members might have thought they were just cutting off a grant, what they actually did, as Raven Brooks at RH Reality Check argues:

But the biggest issue is they completely changed their mission without even realizing it.

There has been plenty of controversy from Komen to date ranging from accusations they are denying links to cancer because of donations they receive to suing smaller organizations for using "for the cure" in their marketing. But they've weathered it because they've remained focused on what is and should be a completely non-partisan cause -- preventing, treating and curing breast cancer. They've attracted women and men of all political stripes and backgrounds to their cause. It was a safe place for corporations to support the cause. Komen's board thought they were simply cutting off a grant, for what many believe to be ideological reasons driven by Karen Handel, but what they were really doing is changing their entire mission. By taking a side in the abortion debate they essentially decided: we only want to work with men and women on the anti-abortion side of the debate, cutting off at least 50% if not more of their support.

Brooks also says Komen had no fucking clue how the Intertoobz work, a point taken up in an excellent analysis of the whole schmozzle by a non-profit marketing and PR expert.

For me, the most fun is in watching the Fetus Lobby squirm, twitch, and SHRIEEK!!!!!!

Here's a round-up of reactions from their own point of view, which doesn't yet seem to geddit that they lost. Big Time.

Here's another round-up from Right Wing Watch, who notes the deliciousness of their wailing about 'gangsterism', 'mafia shakedown', and 'bullying'.

Mona Charen of the National Review Online lamented that “it’s extremely disappointing that Komen has caved” but “it’s hardly surprising given the onslaught they’ve endured over the course of the last few days,” and NRO’s Daniel Foster charged Planned Parenthood with “gangsterism.” Of course, just days prior Kathryn Jean Lopez on NRO hailed Komen’s initial decision as a major victory, noting “this Komen-Planned Parenthood relationship has long been a target of pro-life activists.”

Catholic Family and Human Rights Initiative (C-Fam) president Austin Ruse told LifeSiteNews called potentially successful effort to have the Komen foundation reverse their decision defunding Planned Parenthood a “mafia shakedown”.

It gets even better. In an update RWW adds:

UPDATE: Liberty Counsel Action is now urging its members to cancel any donations they made to Komen, with Matt Barber arguing that the group should change their name to “Susan G. Komen for the Cause,” pushing the discredited charge that abortion is linked to breast cancer.

Upshot: Komen has MASSIVELY pissed off BOTH sides.

The question flying around is: Can Komen recover? I don't think so. I think they're pooched. (But still bear watching.)

Now that we've got the taste of winning, how about we sane people keep up the pressure on Komen for nixing $12 million for stem-cell research?

Also, with the taste of winning still strong, let's consider what we won: the politicization of millions of formerly disengaged Americans who just had their eyes jerked open to the depravity of the Fetus Lobby.

As JJ said here:

It has never been more obvious to me that they hate us so much, they want us to die.
Want. Us. To. Die.

Signed,
a breast cancer survivor who at this moment feels two emotions: disgust and fear.

Yes. It should be clear to everyone now. Conservatives hate us and want us to die.

"It's like a breath of life ..."

NFB producer Ravida Din speaks about what moved her to develop "Pink Ribbons Inc".



It sounds amazing.

My sister died from medical complications from ovarian cancer. Seeing this documentary won't be easy, but I feel that it's important to do so, given how antichoice board members at the Susan G. Komen Foundation have declared war on women.

New Komen Logo

h/t JJ on Twitter

Image source

Komen: The Canadian Connection, Part II

Back here we asked what the connection between the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Komen Foundation might be.

Here's its answer on Facebook

Hi everyone,
We’ve received some requests for information on our relationship with U.S.-based Susan G. Komen For The Cure. In 2009, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation formalized our process for sharing corporate fundraising partners cross-border. For example, if a U.S.-based corporate partner of Komen’s was interested in supporting CBCF in Canada, or vice versa, the agreement outlines how those connections would be made. We in Canada make our own assessment of whether a potential partnership makes sense for us. That is the extent of our formal agreement. While we welcome the opportunity to collaborate and share best practices with Komen and all breast cancer charities in Canada and around the world, we do so informally and we all make decisions on priorities and policies independently. All money raised by CBCF remains here to support our vision of creating a future without breast cancer.

OK, then. Just latching on to successful fund-raising strategies, while still partaking in exploitative pinkwashing. Though, as I said then, the Canadian national sponsors, with the exception of Revlon, seem not quite as evil as Komen's.

Surprise! The Komen Kaper Was Planned

From Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic we get some behind-the-scenes dirt on Komen's defunding of Planned Parenthood's breast exams program for poor people.

Surprise! It was a set-up. Komen recently instituted a rule that it would not fund organizations under any kind of 'investigation'. Well, some congressfundy was happy to oblige with a bogus demand for more documents from PP.

But three sources with direct knowledge of the Komen decision-making process told me that the rule was adopted in order to create an excuse to cut-off Planned Parenthood. (Komen gives out grants to roughly 2,000 organizations, and the new "no-investigations" rule applies to only one so far.) The decision to create a rule that would cut funding to Planned Parenthood, according to these sources, was driven by the organization's new senior vice-president for public policy, Karen Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate from Georgia who is staunchly anti-abortion and who has said that since she is "pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." (The Komen grants to Planned Parenthood did not pay for abortion or contraception services, only cancer detection, according to all parties involved.) I've tried to reach Handel for comment, and will update this post if I speak with her.

The decision, made in December, caused an uproar inside Komen. Three sources told me that the organization's top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board's decision to cut off Planned Parenthood. Williams, who served as the managing director of community health programs, was responsible for directing the distribution of $93 million in annual grants. Williams declined to comment when I reached her yesterday on whether she had resigned her position in protest, and she declined to speak about any other aspects of the controversy.

But John Hammarley, who until recently served as Komen's senior communications adviser and who was charged with managing the public relations aspects of Komen's Planned Parenthood grant, said that Williams believed she could not honorably serve in her position once Komen had caved to pressure from the anti-abortion right.

And another surprise! The Komen board went against its own staff's professional advice. In other words, the move was purely ideological, thinly -- and as it turns out totally unsuccessfully -- veiled as an 'administrative' process.

Everybody wants to talk to Fetus Lobbyist Karen Handel. She's not giving interviews but she can't STFU.

We’ve also got a frame grab of a Tweet that Handel passed along: “Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb to throw. Cry me a freaking river.”

The more I hear about Komen, the easier it is to detest it.

But this episode perfectly exemplifies the right-wing modus operandi: high-handed, ideological decisions, arrogantly imposed, and ineptly justified.

And Dave at The Galloping Beaver, directs us to TBogg who points out:

They had to know this movie was being released this week and yet they still issued their press release cutting ties to Planned Parenthood on Monday.

Hubris or stupidity?

You don’t have to choose just one, you know….

Pink Ribbons INc.

The political fuckery is typical of women-hating fundamentalist religious fetus-lobby zealots.

But the media attention on the Susan G Komen faux-charity and foundation to help US corporations profit by exploiting breast cancer is timely for the long-scheduled release of Pink Ribbons Inc. - a stunning new documentary by the NFB.

Watch for it on Friday February 3rd, across Canada.

Komen: The Canadian Connection

Oh looky here.

January 12, 2010 — Leading breast cancer organizations Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in Canada today announce a new agreement to raise funds and explore possibilities to partner in research, education, advocacy and awareness programs across borders.

The website for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is screwy. Can't copy url, can't move around pages, can't search. Coincidence?

And the website for Run for the Cure doesn't have a search function. (At least the national sponsors, with the exception of Revlon don't look quite as evil as Komen's.)

So what is the connection between CBCF and Komen? Beyond that fuzzy 'possibilities to partner'?

The Globe is wondering too:

But it's also raising questions about what impact the Komen Foundation's decision could have in Canada. Last August, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, which organizes the Run for the Cure, announced it was teaming up with the Komen Foundation to raise money and possibly collaborate on research, education, advocacy and awareness programs on both sides of the border.

Will the new alliance lead to funding changes at Planned Parenthood in Canada as well?

The questions come only a few months after the Conservative government was in the spotlight over the decision to fund an international Planned Parenthood group, which provides abortions in developing countries around the world. Critics accused the government of succumbing to pressure from the pro-life movement.

While the government dragged its feet for months on making a decision, but it was revealed last year it will give $6 million to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, earmarked for countries where abortion is illegal.

I don't think there is any reason for this to impact the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health, formerly Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada. It seems to have no interest in breast cancer. Planned Parenthood Toronto doesn't offer breast screenings.

But I would like to hear from the CBCF, specifically on its relationship with anti-choice Komen Foundation.

Screw 'Run for the Cure'

I was struggling to express my disgust at the cowardice of the Komen Foundation in caving to the pressure of the Fetus Lobby, which is taking credit and celebrating.

“The continued, collective efforts of the pro-life movement have paid off,” said Bradley Mattes, Executive Director of the Life Issues Institute. “Our work to educate Komen donors to the reality that the organization has financially supported the nation’s largest chain of abortion mills has caused Komen to halt the financial hemorrhaging. Evidently, Komen had to choose between political ideology and financial viability. They made a good choice.”

I was going to write about how Planned Parenthood serves mostly poor people, how much a mammogram costs, how utterly despicable this is. . .

Then I found Amanda Marcotte's latest and she nails it. It's a witch hunt.

That's when I realized that anti-choicers do this so well because the war on reproductive health care is basically a witchhunt, and the religious fundamentalists behind it are the modern day version of medieval paranoids of old who believed that women who didn't conform to their exacting standards were consorting with Satan.

. . .

Anyone who thinks breast cancer can be neatly cordoned off from this growing circle of hate for all things women's health care is fooling themselves. That's not how witch hunts work. The fear here is not about fetuses or babies per se, but a deep-set fear of female sexuality. Already anti-choicers have scooped breast cancer under the umbrella "abortion", claiming that abortion causes breast cancer. (It doesn't.) Komen would rather side with people who see breast cancer as god's judgment on you for having an abortion rather than side with people support comprehensive health care for women. That tells you all you need to know about their organization. I'm all for picking up your sneakers and taking up running as a hobby, but recommend now you do it for you, and not for the ever-elusive cure for cancer.

Oh, and by the way, Komen doesn't play nice. It wastes a million dollars a year of donors' money chasing down little fundraisers who have the temerity to use the colour pink or use the phrase 'for the cure' in their names.

"I think it's a shame," [target Sue Prom] said. "It's not okay. People don't give their money to the Komen Foundation and they don't do their races and events so that Komen can squash any other fundraising efforts by individuals. That's not what it's about."

Image source.