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When the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization announced on Friday that it would continue funding Planned Parenthood through its current grant, a statement from its founder urged, [e]veryone who has participated in this conversation… to help us move past this issue.” The request has not been heeded by many journalists and concerned women who were outraged when Komen announced last week that it would pull $250,000 in funding from Planned Parenthood because the multi-service health care provider is under a politically driven congressional investigation. Komen announced it was reversing its decision on Friday but not before it was subjected to a serious public inquiry.

The Huffington Post reported on Sunday that it was given exclusive access to emails written by Komen’s Vice President of Public Policy, a Republican named Karen Handel, showing that she created a rule about congressional investigations as a cover to target Planned Parenthood. An email by Handel to colleagues reportedly reads, ‘If we just say it’s about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.’” The controversy shined a spotlight on Handel, who is not shy when it comes to politics. She ran for her party’s nomination for Governor of Georgia in 2010 on a platform that included defunding Planned Parenthood, which earned Handel Sarah Palin’s endorsement. BREAKING: Handel announced her resignation this morning, releasing a public letter.

Last week Think Progress discovered that Komen’s hiring practices have been infused by conservative politics. In December the charity hired former Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer to interview candidates for the Senior Vice President of External Relations. According to one prospective candidate the very politically connected Fleischer asked candidates how the organization could manage controversy related to Planned Parenthood. Mixed with new revelations about the Komen Foundation are reports of long-standing concerns regarding its practices. Lucinda Marshall, director of the Feminist Peace Network, wrote last week that Komen’s problems are enduring, including accepting, “massive support from corporations that make all manner of products that have been linked to cancer and hawk[ing] all manner of pink stuff with cancer-related ingredients.”

GUEST: Lucinda Marshall, director of the Feminist Peace Network

Read Lucinda Marshall’s article, Curing the Pink Stink here.