Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum sounded off on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure decision to cut off funds to Planned Parenthood for breast exams, which it reversed in part Friday.
"I don't believe breast cancer research is advanced by funding an organization that does abortions where you've seen ties to cancer and abortions," said a hoarse Santorum on "Fox News Sunday." In fact, a 2007 study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine studying 105,716 women found no link between breast cancer and abortions. Abortion services account for about three percent of Planned Parenthood's activities, while cancer screening and prevention accounts for 16 percent.
"So I don't think it's a particularly healthy way of contributing money to further the cause of breast cancer, but that's for private organizations like Susan G. Komen to make that decision," continued Santorum.
The Huffington Post's Laura Bassett noted that Komen apologized, repeated that it would continue to fund existing grants and make Planned Parenthood eligible for future grants. Komen did not, however, promise to renew Planned Parenthood grants.
Santorum also criticized a recent Obama administration rule requiring religiously affiliated employers -- but not churches and other places of worship -- to provide contraception under their health plans without charge.
"This is the problem when government tells you that they can give you things. They can take it away, but even worse they can tell you how you're going to exercise this new right that they've given you consistent with their values instead of the values guaranteed in our Constitution," he said.
The former Pennsylvania senator finished last in Saturday's caucuses in Nevada.
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