Ark. Catholic Diocese Leader Apologizes For Calling On Members Not To Donate To Komen

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Abortion;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 12 Mar 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Monsignor Gaston Hebert, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas, on Thursday apologized for urging members not to donate to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, saying he mistakenly said donations to Komen could help fund abortions and contraception, the AP/Google.com reports (Gambrell, AP/Google.com, 3/8).

Hebert last month sent a statement to parishes and Catholic schools asking that Komen donations be withheld because it provides funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings and education to women visiting Planned Parenthood clinics. Rebecca Gibson, a spokesperson for Komen, said that the group spent $69.6 million on 1,600 community-based education and screening programs in 2007 and that Planned Parenthood received less than 1% of the funds (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/28). Gibson said the money went directly to a Planned Parenthood anticancer initiative and did not free up any funding for abortions.

Hebert said his earlier assertions "turned out not to be true," adding that letting his previous statement "stand would be an action of injustice." Gibson in a statement thanked the diocese for reaching out to "seek the truth from our organization" (AP/Google.com, 3/8).

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