It’s not as easy as “A woman gets a voucher for a mammogram”.
The SGK parent organization gives block grants to many organizations including many outside of the US. Every organization recieving a grant from SGK is listed on their IRS Audited Financial Statements which are posted at **
ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/FinancialInformation.htm**l.
An example from their 2010-2011 Auditied Financial Statement is a $10,320 grant listed for the purpose of “Education” which was given to the Center for Women’s Policy Studies, 1776 Massachusetts Ave, Washington, DC, 20036. The Center for Women’s Policy Studies website states:
Since 1989, the Center has promoted public policy options that preserve reproductive rights and health for low income women and for women of color. Today, the Center is working in partnership with state legislators who are seeking to preserve reproductive rights and promote reproductive health programs through legislative and policy initiatives. These legislators remain on the “front lines” in the battle to preserve the protections guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.(Reference centerwomenpolicy.org/)
So the in the 1010-2011 fiscal year, the SGK parent organization made a cash grant to an organization which lobbies state governments in favor of abortion. To support abortion is sin. That is fact, it cannot be changed. I know that SGK has also given millions to organizations like Fred Hutchinson, Memorial Sloan Kettering and $700,000 to Mt. Sinia Medical Center where my daughter was treated for Leukemia. But they also support sin and this is where a Catholic has to be careful.
The issue really isn’t sin because sin is objective and they sin by supporting abortion. What we have to do as Christians is be aware of our oen
culpability to that sin. The issue for us is
culpability, or
how much blame we bear for the sin. We may be more or less culpable by our actions, and for me, not to support SGK is to remove all chance of being culpable to their actions and thereby called to account for it by Jesus when I stand in judgement.
In all fairness to SGK, they have cleaned up their act tremendously. Their 2004, 2005 and 2006 Audited Financial Statements look like a who’s-who of pro abortion and gay/lesbian foundations and organizations and this years statement lists mostly very prestigious research institutes and universites. But this year they also gave $200,000 to the National Lesbian Health Organization (
mautnerproject.org/) and $15,000 to Family Care International (
familycareintl.org/) which is heavily into promoting emergency contraception and abortion in third world nations.
We do have to be careful, we do have a right to ask, and we do have a right to call them out when they support sin. We have a right to refuse to donate when we see these things. The issue is culpability to sin, and I personally want no part in it to the extent that I can avoid it.
But the assertion that all SGK does is grants so that women can get vouchers for mammagrams simply isn’t true. It’s just not that simple.
-Tim-
