Race for the Cure funds abortion service

By Mary Shepherd, Davenport
My mother, a Rock Island native, died of breast cancer June 10, 1977. She was 42, the age I am now. I intended to sign up for the Quad-Cities Race for the Cure in her memory, which falls on the 29th anniversary of her death. Then I discovered its link to Planned Parenthood.

In honor of Mom, I am writing this letter. Mom was very vocal about her beliefs. She would call radio talk shows and write her Congressmen. She was critical of charities that abused money entrusted to them and would be appalled that the Susan G. Komen Foundation provides grants locally and nationally to Planned Parenthood.

Locally, money from the Race was given to Planned Parenthood in 2004 for Muscatine residents. For 2005 and 2006, they played a shell game. Planned Parenthood wrote grant requests for Louisa County Health, which then passed the funds to Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood makes money by persuading people to kill their unborn children. It does not educate their victims on the lifelong physical and emotional repercussions of their decision.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation alleges funds are to be used for screening, not abortion services (another shell game), and it tries to discredit studies that show a link between abortion and breast cancer.

If you have any doubt about the relationship between the foundation and Planned Parenthood, I encourage you to research it on the Web.

Mary Shepherd

Davenport