After a controversy over Susan G. Komen for the Cure pulling its grants for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood locations, contributions to Planned Parenthood shot up. Today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg added his own chunk of change to the pool in the form of a whopping $250,000 contribution to the organization. He also indicated he would match contributions 1:1 for each of the next $250,000 contributed by others.
“Politics have no place in health care,” Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. “Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way.”
The Komen foundation had previously been giving roughly $600,000 to 700,000 a year to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood charges that the funding cut was driven by anti-abortion activists, something Komen denies.
Planned Parenthood thanked Mr. Bloomberg for his generosity towards their organization.
“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 Planned Parenthood, said. “This contribution will help ensure that politics don’t interfere with women having access to health care. 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”