The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta is directing thousands of its
church members, priests and staff to withhold support to the Susan G.
Komen for the Cure foundation. "We know they do good work. But they need to stop funding abortion," said Archdiocese spokesperson Pat Chivers.
Chivers spoke with Channel 2's Tom Regan about the memo she sent out this week, explaining the archdiocese's decision to instruct church members not to donate to the Komen foundation.
She said while the Atlanta chapter has not provided funding to Planned Parenthood, it has publicly encouraged support to the national Komen organization and its funding of Planned Parenthood.
"That's an organization that is the largest supporter and promoter of abortions in the United States. Their activities are in direct opposition to the teaching of the Catholic Church about the sanctity of human life. We see any support of an abortion is an intrinsic evil," Chivers said.
Chiver noted a post on the Facebook page of Komen Atlanta. It stated "We hope that any investigation prohibiting Planned Parenthood from receiving future Komen grants is promptly resolved."
"That public support is an absolute scandal," Chivers said.
Regan contacted the Atlanta affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for comment.
In an email statement, a representative said, "The Atlanta-area Planned Parenthood organization has never requested funding from Komen Atlanta, so they have never received funds from our organization. Komen Atlanta remains committed to ensuring that all women, especially the underserved in our community, have access to life saving breast cancer screening and support services."