(RNN) – A top executive at the Susan G. Komen foundation and the woman at the center of controversy surrounding its funding of Planned Parenthood has resigned.
Karen Handel, Komen's vice president for public policy, announced her resignation in a letter following the very loud fallout from the foundation's decision to defund about $680,000 in grants to the center that are primarily used for breast cancer screenings.
The Associated Press reported that sources at the foundation said Handel was a driving force in the decision to cut the funding.
"I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it," Handel said in her letter. "I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen's future and the women we serve."
Handel is a former Republican candidate for governor in Georgia.
Last week, the foundation announced it had backtracked on its decision to halt the funding.
The backlash over the funding - which included outrage from the public, as well as a petition from members of the U.S. Senate - resulted in the resignation of several members of the Komen leadership in protest.
In announcing their decision to restore funding, the Komen foundation said it regretted the pall that settled over the foundation's motives.
"We want to apologize for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," the organization wrote on its Twitter feed Friday.
The Komen foundation announced last week it planned to drop breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, a group of women's health clinics that treat the medically under-served. Planned Parenthood said the decision was politically motivated.
[Read Friday's statement from the Susan G. Komen foundation.]
Komen officials claimed to have dropped the funding because of new, more stringent requirements as to who can receive funding, including eliminating funding for any organization under investigation.
Friday, the organization clarified its position.
"We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political," according to Komen's Twitter feed Friday.
The House oversight and investigations subcommittee began an investigation into Planned Parenthood's funding in the fall that put the organization under pressure. Planned Parenthood has maintained that the investigation also is politically motivated.
Planned Parenthood released a statement on their website Friday stating that they are "grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria" and they look forward to helping women in underserved communities.
"In recent weeks, the treasured relationship between the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and Planned Parenthood has been challenged, and we are now heartened that we can continue to work in partnership toward our shared commitment to breast health for the most underserved women," said Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, praised the women who participated in the backlash, posting this message on her Twitter feed:
"When women speak out, women win."
The backlash spurred private donations to pour in to Planned Parenthood on Wednesday and Thursday.
Several media reports said the organization had raised $1 million in the wake of the controversy.
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
(RNN) – Susan G. Komen has announced that they reversed their decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, according to CNN.
This decision comes after top officials with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation resigned in protest after the organization's controversial decision Wednesday to drop funding for Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood clinics provide medical care to underserved women. (Source: CNN)
Former GOP candidate for governor of Georgia and top executive at the Susan G. Komen foundation announced she would resign effective immediately. (Source: CNN)
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