HispanicBusiness

The annual Planned Parenthood luncheon in Tampa, Fla., couldn't have been more timely.

Typically, the buzz is about reproductive rights, advances in medicine for women or opportunities to better deliver services. On Thursday, emotions were high as attendees blasted the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation's announcement this week it was eliminating funding to all Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation.

The room, packed with 200 Planned Parenthood supporters, including some local and former state politicians, was obviously rankled by the decision, even though the local Planned Parenthood chapter doesn't get money from the Komen foundation.

The only Planned Parenthood branch in the state that does receive Komen money is in southeast Florida, said Barbara A. Zdravecky, president of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. Still, she said, the decision to pull funds has long-range, troubling ramifications.

"We are a perfect partner for Komen," said. "We should not be pitted against each other."

The Komen Foundation, a leader in fundraising for breast cancer research, announced Tuesday that it will halt grants to Planned Parenthood because of a federal investigation over whether the organization mingles federal money with funds that pay for abortions, which is prohibited.

U.S. Rep Cliff Stearns, a Republican from Ocala, initiated the probe.

Planned Parenthood also conducts breast cancer examinations and other breast health services, and the Komen money typically is used to pay for those services.

Over the last five years, Planned Parenthood has provided about 4 million breast exams and referrals for 70,000 mammograms nationwide. Grants from Komen covers about 170,000 of the breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals.

Planned Parenthood said its Komen grants totaled about $680,000 last year and $580,000 in 2010. That money went to 19 affiliates across the nation.

A statement from the Komen Foundation said politics did not play a role in the decision.

"We are dismayed and extremely disappointed that actions we have taken to strengthen our granting process have been widely mischaracterized," said the statement, which was posted on the foundation's website Wednesday.

In 2010, the foundation began the task of evaluating its grant process that awarded $93 million to local community programs last year. Those grants paid for 700,000 breast health screenings and diagnostic procedures, the statement said.

"Following this review, we made the decision to implement stronger performance criteria for our grantees to minimize duplication and free up dollars for direct services to help vulnerable women," the statement said.

To do this, the foundation implemented stringent eligibility standards to safeguard donor dollars. "Consequently," the statement said, "some organizations are no longer eligible to receive Komen grants.

"We regret that these new policies have impacted some longstanding grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are not about politics," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Komen has been deluged with negative emails and Facebook postings accusing it of knuckling under to pressure from anti-abortion groups.

In Washington, 26 U.S. senators -- all Democrats except for independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont -- signed a letter calling on Komen to reconsider its decision.

Also Thursday, Mollie Williams, who had been Komen's director of community health programs, had resigned in protest over the grant cutoff.

Williams, in an email, said she could not comment on her departure for reasons of professional confidentiality, but she was clear about her views.

"I have dedicated my career to fighting for the rights of the marginalized and underserved," she wrote. "And I believe it would be a mistake for any organization to bow to political pressure and compromise its mission."

Over the years, Planned Parenthood has become a target of anti-abortion groups. The organization serves about 3 million people a year for reproductive health care, contraception services and other primary-care services.

Zdravecky said one out of every five women in the nation goes to Planned Parenthood for medical treatment. Many are poor and don't have insurance, she said.

"Of course, we were shocked and saddened about the Komen defunding," she said before the luncheon at Maestro's restaurant at the Straz Center. The two organizations had been working together for seven years.

She said when Congress tried to cut funding to Planned Parenthood last year, her organization fought back. More than a million supporters voiced their concerns, she said.

"We found that we have a mighty force behind us," she said.

That force was evident this week. A day after the Komen foundation made its announcement, nearly $1 million was pledged to Planned Parenthood, including $250,000 from a Dallas philanthropist and $250,000 from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. An additional 6,000 donors pledged a total of $400,000.

At the Tampa luncheon, an impromptu call from Zdravecky for donations to pay for an electronic medical records system resulted in a collection that netted about $10,000.

"We certainly will be asking Komen to reconsider its decision," she said.