Karen Handel: Planned Parenthood Made This Political

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Karen Handel, who resigned from the Komen Foundation Tuesday morning over her role in the decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, went on Fox News Tuesday afternoon to discuss the controversy. Speaking with host Megyn Kelly, Handel defended the initial decision by the foundation to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, saying it was about the mission, not politics.

“The only group that made this political is Planned Parenthood,” Handel said. However, Handel continued to explain that the Komen Foundation had been under pressure from pro-life groups over their association with Planned Parenthood, including pressure because of the Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood. “It’s no secret, Megyn, Komen and other organizations funding Planned Parenthood had been under pressure long before my time that had been going on, the pressure around the controversy…There is this kind of controversy, Komen was doing its best to move to more central ground. I was asked to look at options. I looked at it and I did.” 

By “controversey,” Handel seems to be referring to the Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood led by Rep. Cliff Stearns as well as investigations on the state level. However, Rep. Stearns’s investigation was launched after Handel arrived at Komen, and Handel did say Komen had been under pressure for a long time. Ongoing pressure from pro-life groups over association with Planned Parenthood because they provide abortions has certainly been going on for years. 

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