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February 2012 > Commentary: The Tempest
The Word On Fire Blog

Commentary: The Tempest



Last week's media maelstrom surrounding Susan G. Komen dropping its grant funding for Planned Parenthood had a misleading undercurrent—that it was simply an unfortunate pawn in the game. But the controversial organization is actually a big player in that game, and fared well as a result. Lucky break? Hardly, explains Father Steve.

Last week the Susan G. Komen foundation provoked storms of controversy when its leadership announced that it was withdrawing grants to Planned Parenthood until a congressional investigation into the practices of the organization were resolved. Komen had been providing some $680,000 a year to Planned Parenthood for the express purpose of providing breast cancer screening at its facilities. The Komen Foundation offers $93 million in grants each year to support its efforts at fostering preventative measures that lead to early treatment of breast cancer and research into what it hopes will one day lead to a cure. Komen has enjoyed broad cultural support and is perhaps one of the most recognizable charitable endeavors on the scene today.

To identify Planned Parenthood as a controversial organization is to engage in egregious understatement. It is, like Komen, a non-for-profit, but there the similarity ends. Planned Parenthood’s stated purpose is to provide what it terms as “reproductive services,” by which it means access to contraception, sterilization and abortions. Access to all of this is, according to the ethos of Planned Parenthood, integral to women’s health. Many beg to differ about this claim- and they should- especially given the origins of Planned Parenthood in the eugenics ethos and movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Planned Parenthood has assets in excess of $1 billion and receives in government grants alone some $500 million a year.

Komen’s grant to Planned Parenthood is curious given the ethos of both organizations. Given the specificity of its goals, one would think that Komen would be more focused, but they accepted Planned Parenthood as a partner and, in doing so, associated its own ethos with that of Planned Parenthood. This association was not unappreciated by pro-life activists and Catholic organizations, including some bishops, who warned that Catholic contributions to Komen would result in the possibility of both material and formal cooperation in an intrinsic evil- abortion. Given this aversion, pro-life activists and Catholic organizations were cautiously optimistic in Komen’s public announcement that, after 2012, grants to Planned Parenthood would not be guaranteed. Additionally, many individual Catholics were happy, as they understood they would be able to support an organization that they viewed as capable of doing good, and that advocated a cause that they held to be important—the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

Komen had let Planned Parenthood know about their intentions privately in December, likely a courtesy that was intended to allow the organization to make plans and find alternative funding for their breast cancer screening programs. They did- but Komen did not imagine how they would go about financing their programs in the face of the withdrawal of the grants. Last week, after the public announcement by Komen, Planned Parenthood launched an effective media blitzkrieg against Komen via the mainstream and social media networks. Marshaling well placed advocates for their cause in media, government and popular culture, the decision by Komen was portrayed by Planned Parenthood as a politically-motivated, dastardly scheme to deprive poor women of much needed healthcare services. Any support for Komen by pro-life activists or Catholic organization was overcome by the meme that Komen had yielded to the aims of the religious right and other groups that would deprive women of not only their rights, but of healthcare. Komen found itself in the midst of a tempest and as the storm encircled the organization with ever increasing intensity, it’s chairman offered a qualification of their original public statement that was greeted by Planned Parenthood as a victory. Not only had Planned Parenthood effectively demonstrated its political and cultural clout, but it also had more than compensated for the potential loss of the Komen grant as its supporters poured money into its coffers.

Commentary on all this became ubiquitous. The Catholic blogosphere was lit up for days, and my own meager Facebook page crackled with intense heat as a host of articles from the Catholic and secular sources were shared and posted. I take Elizabeth Scalia’s insights to be among the best as she cut to the chase and called Planned Parenthood out for being what they clearly are- a bully. Backing down in the face of a bully is never a good thing nor is countenancing or tolerating such behavior helpful. But that is what has happened and since the tactics of Planned Parenthood proved to be effective to achieve their goals of shaming Komen and replenishing their accounts, I am certain it will not be the last time that the organization uses their bullying strategy. It might just be that Planned Parenthood actually is liked less as a result of their recent actions against Komen, but my sense is that, as it is with so many bullies, it is not as important to be liked as it is to be feared.

Planned Parenthood has proved itself to be a master of cunning and subterfuge over the years. They have re-branded their organizations aims in phrases such as “women’s health” (who in the right mind would be against that?) and “reproductive services” (the irony of this messaging seems lost on many as the services Planned Parenthood offers are hardly serving reproduction, but its antithesis). Even right now, as the organization is immersed in a congressional investigation of its practices, it seems to be successfully leveraging its status as a victim of politically motivated attacks as a means of distracting the public from very real questions about its operations.

It is the leveraging of Planned Parenthood’s status as a victim that is particularly problematic. “Victim status” in our culture has become a premium identity that can be effectively used to accomplish any number of goals, positive and negative. It is helpful for anyone interested in why victim status can be so successfully leveraged to political and personal gain in our culture to examine the cultural analysis offered by Rene Girard. Girard is right when he asserts that much of the cultural capital that is afforded a victim in our culture emanates from the influence of the Christian Gospel. The proclamation that God not only identifies himself as being in solidarity with the victimized, but becomes one himself, reaches deep into a culture that despite its secularist pretensions remains profoundly influenced by Christianity. The influence of the Christian faith is the primary reason that appeals to victim status are not only attended to carefully, but it is also the reason that individuals and groups can make such recognition work to their advantage.

The positioning of Planned Parenthood as a victim is unconvincing. The organization is, even without the Komen grant, enormously wealthy and influential- and given that genuine criticism of their practices rarely seems to be investigated, let alone to stick- it is beyond the reproach of cultural elites. The tempest generated by Planned Parenthood in the past week was specifically and intentionally manufactured to portray them as a victim, and it allowed them to present themselves as such with the goal of achieving more power. An organization with $1 billion in assets, $500 million in government funding and well placed advocates in the media, popular culture and the administration of the most powerful nation in the world is many things- but the one thing it is not is a victim.

Father Steve Grunow is the Assistant Director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Posted: 2/7/2012 11:06:24 AM by Word On Fire | with 8 comments
Filed under: abortion, FatherSteve, healthcare, PlannedParenthood, ReneGirard, SusanGKomen, victim


Trackback URL: http://www.wordonfire.org/trackback/a19454a7-d46c-4531-8f5a-94bf44a72efb/Commentary--The-Tempest.aspx

Comments
Judy Bettinger
It bears repeating and repeating that Komen is hardly innocent itself. They've steadfastly refused to admit the link between abortion and breast cancer. (See bcpinstitute.org for links to multiple epidemiological studies.) Also, they remained untroubled for far too long about the fact that the only "screening" that PP was providing was exactly the same kind of manual exam that women should do themselves monthly. PP has NEVER provided mammograms, contrary to the outright lie told by their president, Cecile Richards. I think the overriding lesson in all of this is what my grandmother used to say: "lie down with dogs, get up with fleas".
2/7/2012 11:28:09 AM
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JohnE
My understanding is that Planned Parenthood doesn't even do screenings for breast cancer -- they refer women to other organizations that do the screenings. They do charge for a simple exam that any woman could easily learn to do herself though. I feel sorry for Komen. I'm hoping they're still planning to defund Planned Parenthood in a more subtle manner -- by saying they could be eligible but not actually giving them anything. I imagine Planned Parenthood will be watching for that and Komen would fear more bullying and website hacking. I guess we'll see what happens during their next grant cycle. According to Planned Parenthood and those who support them, including politicians and the media, Komen is their *****. What other treatment would you expect from an organization that kills the unborn and destroys women's lives? I think the lesson for other organizations out there is to not get involved with PP in the first place.
2/7/2012 11:45:10 AM
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Jason
Great article. "Reproductive services" reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. Well said Father Steve!
2/7/2012 11:50:38 AM
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Brandon Vogt
Well-written analysis, Fr. Steve. I see the "victim" card crop up in so many circles, but especially in religious ones. Most prominently it's played by Protestants, who are victimized by those oppressive, tradition-inventing Papists, and same-sex marriage advocates, whose 'rights' are being trampled upon by religious zealots.

Portraying your enemy as an angry Goliath--and thereby setting yourself up as the innocent David--is modernity's greatest formula for social success.

PS. Your post reminds me that I still need to dive into Girard....
2/7/2012 12:03:28 PM
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Carla
I normally don't blog so strongly, however, "follow the money trail and around and around we go." If you'll notice, Planned Parenthood without a doubt was a huge financial supporter of Obama's campaign before he was elected to his 1st term. Planned Parenthood, in turn, has received a large amount of federal funding(taxpayer monies.)With Obama coming up for re-election, my guess is, Planned Parenthood is funding his re-election campaign again. It seems to me that there should be some accountabilty of this whole ugly "partnership" that lacks "in the sunshine" Public Policy transparency, and wreaks of conflict of interest.
2/7/2012 6:01:12 PM
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Peggy Pandaleon
One under-reported fact by the very unobjective, pro-abortion media is that Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the US. It is estimated that 30-40% of their revenues come from PROVIDING abortion procedures (over 300,000 in 2010). However, they only REFER their clients to adoption services (only about 800 in 2010). The media is in full cooperation with this dishonest view of "women's health" and "reproductive services."
2/8/2012 9:48:40 AM
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Bear
sIn will only grow in a culture where the individual neglects to see their own role in the sIn around them!!

Christians today live like pagans, but don't even know it!!

How many of us live fully according to the Catholic Church?

How many of us know family or friends who use
contraception, but remain silent?

Obedience to God is key, but does the majority even know Him?

Do we keep the commandments, is the Lord's day remembered?!

Fix the individual, fix the family, fix the society, fix the nations, fix the world...but it all begins with one!
2/8/2012 9:29:00 PM
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JWB
Thanks, Fr. Steve. The use of Rene Girard to analyze a cultural valorization of victimhood is particularly far-seeing.
2/10/2012 1:43:48 AM
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