Komen v. Planned Parenthood - WE WIN!

We won! We won! We won!  Sometimes I feel like we never win, but when Susan G. Komen announced they were reversing their decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood I felt like doing a victory dance.  A lot of times it feels like conservative forces are way better at raising money, writing letters, and getting their voices heard.  They seem like a better organized, more homogeneous group and us liberals with our big tent just never seem to shout with the same voice (hello Occupy!).  But thank you social media, because boy did we SHOUT!  We took over the internet shouting!

We did it with humor like in this cartoon, or in this Colbert clip.  We did it with our electronic signatures when 250,000 signed the MoveOn.org petition.  We did it with our wallets when Planned Parenthood raised $400,000 in 24 hours following the announcement.  Have I mentioned, WE DID IT!

Despite the not intended to be factual statements you may have heard from Sen. Kyl, Planned Parenthood is a full-service, affordable, accessible reproductive health organization.  I was saddened by Komen's decision to be single minded and political in its ideological pursuit rather than putting women first.  (If you're having doubts about the motives of this move, check out this screen shot of what Komen VP Karen Handel re-tweeted during the debacle).  

Komen should be about women's health and about providing women with access to the best health care possible.  And for many women (1 out of every 5 women actually) that means using Planned Parenthood for health care.  To read some of these women's stories, visit this wonderful Tumblr.  And remember, sometimes the good guys do win.