Harding University, which found itself yesterday in the national media eye (and those of not a few unhappy women) for removing Race for the Cure items from the campus bookstore, has reversed itself. The pink gear — pens, coffee cups, picture frames and books sold to advance the breast cancer cure efforts of the Susan G. Komen Foundation — is on sale again, multiple sources are reporting.
A Harding administrator had ordered the items removed after a student complained that the Komen Foundation gives support to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion among family planning and other women’s health services including breast screening. Harding, in Searcy, is affiliated with the conservative Church of Christ. The Foundation does NOT, however, give Planned Parenthood money. Some affiliates — not the one in Arkansas — support the cancer screening activities of some Planned Parenthood organizations.
Students and staff at Harding who’ve been long supporters of the Race for the Cure were among those who objected to the decision.
I expect an official statement before long, but word has filtered out to the public. Meanwhile, campus moles report that the stuff is already sold out. All’s well ….
UPDATE: The statement: