Early last week, the mainstream media exploded with news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation, also known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization dedicated to supporting cancer research and prevention, had announced that it was going to stop funding cancer screening and education programs operated by Planned Parenthood. It has since reversed its decision, but the lesson learned is clear: women’s health should not be subjected to political ideology.

Many pro-choice activists and their supporters argued that the Komen Foundation was pandering to pro-life groups, which have consistently protested the foundation’s association with Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood supporters allege that the decision was fueled by Komen’s appointment of Karen Handel, who is adamantly pro-life, to the position of Vice President of Public Policy.

It is honestly shocking that a dedicated organization like the Komen Foundation would ever consider putting politics before women’s lives. Planned Parenthood has underwritten 170,000 women’s screenings this year. Its programs are particularly important because they target and offer services for people with fewer resources who might not otherwise be able to afford regular mammograms and other screenings.

According to Komen spokespeople, the decision was a result of a change in the policy on grants to organizations; the foundation had decided to stop giving funds to organizations under current investigation. Typically, in the non-profit sector, the term “investigation” is mainly applicable to criminal investigations. However, in this particular instance, the investigation being conducted by Representative Cliff Stearn (R-FL) is regarding whether Planned Parenthood has received federal funding for abortion services.

Despite this new policy, it has also come to light that Komen has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Penn State, which is still reeling from an infamous sexual abuse scandal and is therefore under active investigation. It is hard to see why Komen would have applied its new policy only to Planned Parenthood and not to other organizations currently under investigation.

Like other opinion writers, I am particularly passionate about issues like this, i.e. polarizing, controversial political events. However, my initial reaction to this story was entirely personal. Cancer has affected many of my relatives. Two of my aunts are breast cancer survivors, one of whom has had multiple relapses. While they are both currently cancer-free, I lost my maternal grandmother to breast cancer when I was three years old. I know what it’s like to lose close family members to cancer.

Thanks to organizations like the Komen Foundation, more people have had their cancer detected at an early, more treatable stage, and fewer people like me are grieving for their loved ones. Thanks to those organizations, women like me who are at a higher risk of getting breast cancer for genetic reasons are taking steps to make sure that they remain cancer-free. That’s why it’s important that the Komen Foundation doesn’t anger important donors or cut off funding for programs.

The Komen Foundation is receiving deserved serious backlash. Komen’s Connecticut affiliate has withdrawn its support, and its Denver affiliate successfully asked for an exemption to the rule that prompted the withdrawal of funding from Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer-related programs. The executive director of the Los Angeles affiliate has resigned.

At this rate, if people could channel all of their anger concerning Komen funding Planned Parenthood or withdrawing funding from Planned Parenthood into a search for a cure for breast cancer, we might actually find one. This whole episode shouldn’t have happened; we should be focusing on screening and educating women, especially those who don’t have the resources for treatment and are at higher risk. It doesn’t matter whether you are pro-choice or pro-life: a mammogram is not the same as an abortion.