Is there a real danger to the creep of utilitarianism in humanitarian thinking?  Has the modern humanitarian world been reduced to little more than a competitive arena for non-profit interests?  Last year, the Susan G. Komen Foundation imploded over scandals and bitter dissension over funding disputes with Planned Parenthood.  The split took place on a number of levels – financial, ideological, and political – and took place between two technically secular organizations, but it was also complicated (and perhaps even initiated) by conservative Christian concerns over abortion funding and ethics.  Several days ago, Austin Ruse, president of C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute) and self-described intermediary in the dispute, released an “insider’s story” of the shocking and tabloid-worthy collapse.  It’s a horrifying account (assuming that it is true) primarily because of the vicious back-biting and politicking around the seemingly neutral and relatively uncontroversial cause of breast cancer screening:
For years pro-lifers pounded Komen for its support of Planned Parenthood. It made no sense to pro-lifers that Komen, a breast cancer charity, would fund an organization whose essential work in performing abortions that can increase the risk of this deadly disease. And it was an increasing frustration for the millions of pro-life Americans who “raced for the cure†but could not in good conscience continue. Campaigns against Komen by pro-lifers were running all over the country. When Komen President Liz Thompson first came to my office she said, “fully 50% of my time is spent in dealing with†pro-life boycotts of Komen fundraising…
Handel and Thompson said repeatedly to me that they wanted out of the culture wars. They said they did not want to enter into the pro-life side but they wanted to become neutral and focus their time on saving women’s lives. I told them the pro-life world would not need Komen to join the pro-life ranks but that becoming neutral would be welcome and that the boycotts would almost certainly end.
At the time, Komen provided 19 grants to various Planned Parenthood branches, which over the years totaled into the millions of dollars. They believed their donations went to cancer screenings. Little did they know that Planned Parenthood had been lying to them and was only doing referrals since they did not do mammograms… [Read more…] about College Christian Humanitarianism: Part 4