Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Friday rescinded the decision to discontinue its funding for Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening program.

Tony Perkins, the president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, prematurely applauded the breast cancer charity’s decision cutting Planned Parenthood’s funding.

He said it was good news that Susan G. Komen was “putting women’s health first rather than fund the nation’s largest abortion provider.” Perkins’ announcement came after the anti-cancer group walked back its decision to cut Planned Parenthood funding.

Nothing makes me happier than when Perkins falls flat on his face.

Planned Parenthood has previously won Komen grants for breast cancer screenings. Planned Parenthood does not typically carry out such screenings themselves, but refers women to clinics which have facilities geared to accommodate said screenings.

It is clear to me the retreat was a response to the three-day furor which spread through Congress, Komen affiliates and across the Internet like a wildfire. Opponents of the new rule saw it as a signifier the charity’s management caved to anti-abortion pressure.

A senior nursing major who requested to remain anonymous said she thought the initial decision by Komen appeared motivated by pressure from anti-abortionists.

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum said, “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. 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.”

The law is the law. I feel anti-abortionists need to come to terms with the fact that breaking the law is not going to make Roe v. Wade go away.

The focal point for a lot of groups opposed to Planned Parenthood’s existence is the abortion services.

Planned Parenthood does not solely provide abortion-related services. Just a few of Planned Parenthood’s services include pregnancy testing, diabetes screening, breast cancer screening, STD testing, treatment and prevention, male infertility screening and menopause help.

“Planned Parenthood provides teenagers with information on STDs and contraception awareness they are not able to get from their parents, from social groups or church,” Emily Zumstein, a senior English major, said.

Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker posted a statement on the organization’s website concerning the issue.

“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives,” Brinker said. “We will continue to fund existing grants.”

This includes grants given to Planned Parenthood, which preserves its future eligibility for grants.

Brinker’s statement could be seen as an attempt to convince opponents that abortion politics had no influence on the creation of the new rule.

“We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood,” Brinker said. “They were not.”

Shain Thomas is a senior film-television-digital media major from Scotland.