Karen Handel resigns from Komen

By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Karen Handel, the embattled Georgian lauded and criticized for the split between the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, resigned today from her post at the breast cancer organization.

Enlarge photo

Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Former Susan G. Komen V.P. Karen Handel is interviewed by members of the news media discussing her decision to resign following funding issues over Planned Parenthood in Atlanta on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012.

Enlarge photo

Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Former Susan G. Komen V.P. Karen Handel gathers her thoughts as she is interviewed by members of the news media discussing her decision to resign following funding issues over Planned Parenthood in Atlanta on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012.

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Handel has called a press conference this afternoon to discuss the decision.

Handel's resignation a week after the breast cancer organization announced and then reversed a decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood, citing a policy change that prohibited giving grants to organizations under local, state or federal investigation. The move sparked an outcry from both foes and supporters of abortion rights, with many praising Komen for the initial decision, while others vilified the organization for denying funds that largely help low-income women.

Attention quickly focused on Handel, who joined Komen in 2011 as a vice president of public policy, as she campaigned for the Republican gubernatorial nod in 2010 on an anti-abortion platform and has been a vocal opponent of Planned Parenthood. Handel has been widely credited as the architect of the policy change, which was later amended.

In Handel's resignation letter to Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker, she states: "I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. 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. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone’s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen’s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants."

Handel also stated in the letter that she is declining a "possible severance package."

Last week, Brinker denied Handel's involvement in a televised interview with MSNBC , but that did little to quell the growing movement calling for Handel's resignation. Handel remained mum about her role in the funding decision last week; today marks her first public statements about what quickly became a public relations debacle.

Komen officials have not commented on whether a severance package was offered, or why Brinker initially said Handel was not involved in the funding decision.

However, the organization issued a statement from Brinker Tuesday in which she acknowledges Handel's resignation as well as some public relations missteps.

"We have made mistakes in how we have handled recent decisions and take full accountability for what has resulted, but we cannot take our eye off the ball when it comes to our mission," Brinker said in the statement. "To do this effectively, we must learn from what we've done right, what we've done wrong and achieve our goal for the millions of women who rely on us. The stakes are simply too high and providing hope for a cure must drive our efforts."

-- AJC staff writer Jim Galloway contributed to this report.