Karen Handel resigned from Komen International today after the Planned Parenthood dispute from last week.
Life News reported:
Karen Handel, a top Komen official who was said to be instrumental in putting in place the changes in Komen policy that essentially resulted in cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, has resigned her position.
As LifeNews reported last week, Komen initially decided in December to revise its grant-making process to fund grants to agencies that provide direct health services for women — which would eliminate Planned Parenthood since it does not do mammograms. After Planned Parenthood, Democratic members of Congress and the media pounced on Komen for its decision, Komen clarified that Planned Parenthood would still be allowed to submit grant requests but they may or may not be funded.
Handel’s former spokesman Dan McLagan told media outlets today that she has called an afternoon press conference to announce her decision.
According to AP, Handel released a letter (full text below) in advance of the press conference giving more insight into her decision.
“I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it,” Handel said in her letter. “I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen’s future and the women we serve.”
Handel had not spoken out public since the Komen decision became public last week.
The decision came about in part because Komen hired pro-life former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel as its new Vice-President for Policy. While media reports have differed about the level of influence she had on the Komen decision to change its grant policies, the liberal Huffington Post allegesin a weekend story that that was the case.
