National Latina Institute Applauds Komen’s Decision to Reinstate Funds to Planned Parenthood

Today, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) celebrates the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s decision to reinstate funds to Planned Parenthood affiliates that will provide lifesaving breast cancer prevention, screenings and education to Latinas, the uninsured, and low-income women.
“This decision will undoubtedly save lives, as Komen funds to Planned Parenthood health centers provide breast cancer screenings to women who have no other health care options,” said NLIRH executive director Jessica González-Rojas. “We celebrate this just decision and the preventative care that it will provide to Latinas across the country”
The funding that Komen has restored to Planned Parenthood affiliates has provided 170,000 women access to lifesaving breast cancer screenings in the past five years. Latinas make up one quarter of the Planned Parenthood patient population, and will significantly benefit from this decision.
For Latinas in particular, access to preventative care is crucial. Hispanic women are 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer when compared to non-Hispanic white women, even when diagnosed at a similar age and stage according to recent research, and twice as likely to go without health insurance. Nearly 40 percent of Latinas have no health insurance, compared with just under 17 percent for white women. Screening rates for Hispanic women are also lower than for Caucasians – 69.7 percent compared to 72.7 percent – according to a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latinas face some of the most serious challenges to getting the help needed to prevent breast cancer, and the Komen Foundation’s decision today will enable Latinas across the country to access the basic preventative health care that all women deserve.
 
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