Despite Susan G. Komen Reversal, Planned Parenthood Still Receiving Big Donations

Susan G. Komen said Friday they wouldn't be cutting funds to Planned Parenthood after all, but supporters of the women's health organization are still giving generous donations.

On Friday the United Federation of Teachers, the largest local teacher union in the U.S., announced it was donating $125,000 to Planned Parenthood as well as kicking off a special fund-raising effort. UFT spokesperson Dick Riley said they made the decision independently from Komen's reversal. The Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded by the famous bicyclist and cancer survivor, announced Friday he was joining New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in matching up to $100,000 for every dollar donated to Planned Parenthood.

Mayor Bloomberg pledged to donate up to $250,000 to Planned Parenthood in the wake of Komen's decision to stop funding its services. Although the breast cancer advocacy group has since reversed its decision, Bloomberg's pledge still stands.

Politics have no place in health care, the mayor said in a statement to the New York Times. Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care.

The UFT has a large female membership and has supported breast cancer awareness in the past. Last year, the union raised more than $250,000 for the American Cancer Society Stride March.

The Komen Foundation had announced earlier this week that it would not renew most of the grants it had been making to Planned Parenthood over the past few years, with funds averaging $700,000 a year.

The breast cancer advocacy group claimed the decision was unrelated to politics, but rumors spread that Komen did not want to turn off potential donors by supporting an organization that provides abortion services. They changed their mind and apologized after much outcry by both lawmaker and online.