Planned Parenthood

There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure this past few days. I had been very impressed with their ability to successfully brand themselves, and become *the* name in breast cancer. It probably didn't hurt that breast cancer incidence was rising, early detection allowed more women to be successfully treated, and that up until them, cancer hadn't seemed very attractive. They dressed it in pink, made it their color, and mobilized money and brand recognition. They were a force to be reckoned with. When they made demands, policies changed. Even if they were not all that great an idea, medically speaking. And then, all of a sudden, they put themselves under the public scrutiny microscope in a big way. They abruptly changed their granting criteria, and announced they were withdrawing support for Planned Parenthood. It was a disaster in public relations. I think if they had rolled out a plan that had access to affordable health care for low income women that equaled that of Planned Parenthood, and explained their rationale, it might not have been so bad. But they did not. And it seems that isn't why they did it anyway. Instead, Planned Parenthood looked like the good guy--they had donations rolling in and the role they have played in filling the gap between the haves and the have nots made them look squeaky clean. The fact that they perform abortions, in addition to the myriad of other services they provide for women wasn't persuasive to a majority of people. That must have come as something of a surprise to the Komen people. They weren't expecting that. Pink was suddenly a dirty word. Unexpected scrutiny started to explode. All the while Planned Parenthood raked in good press and played the jilted lover. Lesson learned? Time will tell.