Michael Bloomberg, who offered a whopping $250,000 match grant to Planned Parenthood after Susan G. Komen for the Cure yanked funding for the group, said Friday that he is “glad” that Komen reversed its controversial decision, and promised that his generous pledge still stands.
“I think [people] should continue to support both these organizations,” the New York City mayor said in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” just hours after Komen apologized to the country and announced that it was restoring funding for Planned Parenthood. “My challenge grant still stands.”
Bloomberg, whose grand gesture thrilled critics of Komen’s initial decision from earlier this week and drew massive support from his Twitter followers after he tweeted Thursday night, “Please donate to help #PlannedParenthood’s breast cancer screening program & I’ll match up to $250,000,” told Mitchell that he had heard from others promising to follow in his footsteps.
“I actually got a great call from this morning from the head of the United Federation of Teachers, the teacher’s union in New York City, who is contributing $125,000. A friend of mine yesterday emailed me that he was contributing a $100,000,” the billionaire mayor said.
He added, “This may just be a refresher to all of us that organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Susan Komen foundation do great work and it’s really important that the private sector kicks in and allows them to prevent disease and if God forbid something happens, to find a cure, so they have treatment for people that are sick.”
Earlier on MSNBC, Livestrong CEO Doug Ulman announced on “NOW with Alex Wagner” that the Lance Armstrong Foundation was pledging a $100,000 challenge grant to Planned Parenthood.
Underscoring the importance of keeping politics out of health care, Bloomberg said he didn’t know why Komen had moved to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, but that he was “glad” that the decision had been reversed. The mayor also encouraged others to support the mission of both organizations.
“I’ve always been a supporter of both Planned Parenthood and the Susan Komen foundation, and here was a chance to make another investment in the future of the people that live in this country and in this world,” he said.
