Handel resigns from Komen after controversy

A letter a former Georgia politician wrote today continued the fallout from the Susan G. Komen-Planned Parenthood controversy. Karen Handel resigned from her position as Senior Vice President for Policy with Komen. The letter is Handel’s first public response to the firestorm stemming from Komen’s original decision to no longer give Planned Parenthood money to screen women for breast cancer.

If Handel is viewed as being at the center of the controversy, her resignation letter is her way of saying she wasn’t alone. In the letter, she says the decision to pull breast cancer screening funding was QUOTE fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization.

Handel says the decision was made before she joined Komen last April. But, she openly acknowledges her role in the matter. She writes about Komen’s board receiving a detailed review of the change last November… and she says no one objected. Handel also wrote Komen’s separation from Planned Parenthood was the best decision. But after that decision prompted outrage from various groups, Komen changed its mind and reinstated the funding.

In a statement, Komen Founder and CEO Nancy Brinker accepted Handel’s resignation and said the organization has QUOTE made mistakes in how we have handled recent decisions and takes full accountability for what has resulted.  Leola Reis, of Planned Parenthood Southeast, has no comment on Handel’s resignation. She did say…

“We are pleased and thankful that the Komen foundation clarified their grant making criteria allowing Planned Parenthood affiliates to continue to be eligible for funding of breast cancer screening programs.”

Reis says no Planned Parenthood in Georgia receives Komen grants.

When Handel ran for Governor of Georgia in 2010, she opposed abortion and Planned Parenthood. But, in her resignation letter to Komen, Handel wrote neither the decision nor the change were based on political beliefs or ideology. So far, WABE’s repeated attempts to interview Handel have been unsuccessful.