The controversy over Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood hasn't died down yet despite the Komen foundation's decision to restore funding it revoked earlier. But I hope that some good can eventually come out of this debate – not just for the two groups involved but also for the rest of us who care about public awareness of women's health.
What the controversy shows is that people have strong opinions about access to health care and the kinds of health services women should get. Both Komen and Planned Parenthood are worthy organizations with missions that most of us can support – at least in part.
Komen has done an incredible job of raising the profile of breast cancer as a research cause. Those pink ribbons are everywhere. Although I think the pink wave can sometimes be a little too much (do we really need pink dustpans?), I am happy that we can all talk openly about breast cancer and work on funding new treatments.
Planned Parenthood also does a great job of providing health care to women with limited resources. Increasing access to health care – especially screening mammograms – should be a cause we can all get behind.
I'd like to see this controversy become the starting point for a discussion about the things most of agree on: greater awareness of breast cancer and increased access to potentially life-saving screenings.
Both Komen and Planned Parenthood were conciliatory in their statements after the funding was restored, which sets a good example for the rest of us. Couldn't we all behave better?
But maybe that's too much to hope for these days.