USA TODAY
Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder and CEO Nancy Brinker says there has been a "gross mischaracterization" about the group's decision to halt funding to Planned Parenthood.
Brinker says three of the 19 Planned Parenthood clinics will continue to get funding because they are the only services available to low-income women in their communities. The others will be funded through the end of the year and there will be no interruption of services, she said.
Komen's Denver chapter, for example, announced that it has been granted an "exception" to fund Planned Parenthood from April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013.
Komen's funding is important because of budget cuts to Colorado's breast and cervical cancer screening program, the chapter said in a statement. "The community is looking to Komen Denver Affiliate to provide the services the state can no longer fund."
A Facebook message from Komen's Connecticut affiliate says, "We understand, and share, in the frustration around this situation. We hope that any investigation prohibiting Planned Parenthood from receiving Komen grants is promptly resolved."
Brinker told reporters in a conference call that donations to Komen are up 100% in the past two days.
In an interview earlier today with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Brinker called the controversy "a mischaracterization of, certainly, our goals, our mission and everything that we do."
"We haven't defunded Planned Parenthood," she said. "We still have three grants that we've committed to, at least through another year until the end of the grant cycle."