The Susan G. Komen Foundation — with B&H Publishing (a division of Lifeway Resources) — has published a theme Bible for cancer awareness. One dollar from the purchase of each Bible — entitled “Here’s Hope, Breast Cancer Awareness Bible” and paperbacked in Komen’s signature pink — will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the most widely known breast cancer organization in the United States. The Bible was released in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Given Komen’s long association with Planned Parenthood, the move has stunned pro-lifers everywhere and infuriated some Catholic organizations. The obvious rub comes from Planned Parenthood’s highly profitable abortion business, and pro-lifers say that the Here’s Hope Bible could channel funds from the sale of Holy Scripture to fund abortion.
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Wal-Mart, the chosen re-seller, provides the publisher’s description on its website:
The Here’s Hope Breast Cancer Bible is a reminder that God has not forgotten you, a friend, or loved one who has been impacted by breast cancer. Not only will you find encouragement and inspiration through testimonies from breast cancer survivors but more importantly you’ll encounter God’s life-sustaining words for you.
But pro-lifers have not failed to connect the dots between the sale of this Bible and the possible funding of abortion.
The website Catholicsistas.com carried this strong comment:
… [M]uch of Komen’s rhetoric is aimed at "awareness". Aren’t we all "aware" of breast cancer by now? You can ask almost anyone, male or female, and they will likely be able to recite, by rote, the ways to prevent breast cancer: regular mammograms, healthy eating, avoidance of the Pill, and of course not having abortions. We know about self exams and exercising and even genetic testing. So this "awareness" is not as urgent as it once was.
Komen seems simply to have found a titillating way to stir up sentiment — and reap the cash rewards — and now they have stooped to the shameless exploitation of scripture! How dare an organization with a loathsome alliance with abortion giant, PP [Planned Parenthood], associate themselves with "scripture for profit"? Especially since a part of their share of the purchase price will, most likely, find its way to a cause of breast cancer — abortion! After all, $1 of every purchase of the Here’s Hope Bible goes to Komen. Additionally disgraceful is that Komen’s support of PP does nothing to prevent breast cancer — PP does not provide even one mammogram in any of its facilities, nationwide!
This year Planned Parenthood has received nearly $700,000 from Komen affiliates. So critics found the partnership with Lifeway Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, especially offensive. Lifeway is a non-profit organization under the aegis of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and counts B&H Publishing as one of its divisions. In her Found4Life blog, Susan Tyrell writes that the Southern Baptist Convention is generally a strong supporter of the right to life, and wonders whether “the acquisition of this project was a matter of ignorance of the connection rather than ill-intent." She continues:
I’m left with only two responses. First, obviously, we can’t support this Bible. Second, my response is to ask Lifeway and its affiliate company B&H to do whatever they need to stop this project. Is that a lofty thing to suggest? Sure. As a writer I’m aware of the issues with contracts, publication, legal matters. Will it be easy? Of course not. Will it cost? Yes, probably a lot. Is it the right thing to do to pull out of funding death? That should be a question we don’t need to ask.
And the State Deputy of the Michigan Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal service organization) has ruled that no Knights of Columbus councils in Michigan may raise money or affiliate themselves with Komen.
Found4Life blogger Tyrell added, “The bottom line here is that all Bibles are a reminder God has not forgotten you. God loves breast cancer survivors and He loves the unborn. He loves them all, and it’s not likely He’s encouraging anyone to fund death to support breast cancer. All Bibles hold God’s life-sustaining words, but the Here’s Hope Breast Cancer Bible sucks hope from the womb and helps fund the robbery of hope from the unborn.”
Those concerned with right-to-life issues are warned by one pundit to “think before you pink.”
