• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
MPW

Karen Handel Has a Complicated History With Planned Parenthood. She Doesn’t Want to Talk About It

Alana Abramson
By
Alana Abramson
Alana Abramson
Down Arrow Button Icon
Alana Abramson
By
Alana Abramson
Alana Abramson
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 19, 2017, 5:19 PM ET
Georgia 6th Congressional Special Election
Karen Handel speaks at a campaign stop on Monday, April 17, 2017 in Roswell, Georgia.Bill Clark CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Karen Handel, the Republican who advanced to a runoff in the closely watched Georgia special election, has a controversial history with Planned Parenthood.

Handel, who will face Democrat Jon Ossoff in the June runoff, was a Senior Vice President at the Susan G. Komen Fund in 2012, when the organization sparked fierce criticism for its decision to revoke its funding for Planned Parenthood. That decision was quickly reversed, and Handel left Komen shortly after. But five years later, in the gender-charged political climate of the Donald Trump era, Handel is hesitant to revisit the issue.

During a telephone interview with Handel on Wednesday, a day after she topped 17 other Republicans to make the runoff, her spokeswoman stopped the conversation short when Fortune asked about Planned Parenthood, her work at Komen, and how she would work with the Trump Administration if elected.

Handel called back about 20 minutes later, and would not say whether she supports the Republican push to defund Planned Parenthood. She said she supports more funding for women’s health care, and that the best mechanism for that is local health centers. “I want women to have more access to quality care and the access to healthcare for women is not through Planned Parenthood, it is through community health centers across the state,” Handel said.

MORE What to Know About Karen Handel, the Woman Who Made the Georgia Special Election Runoff

Handel is running to represent the suburban Atlanta district long represented by Tom Price, who opposes abortion and is now Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.

In January of 2012, the Komen foundation, which sponsors Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure, announced it was suspending funding for Planned Parenthood. Handel had been Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the organization since 2011. Shortly after, amid fierce backlash, the foundation reversed course. The Huffington Post, citing internal e-mails and one unnamed Komen insider, reported at the time that Handel was the primary force in the decision to pull funding. Handel soon resigned. She published a book about the experience in 2014, titled Planned Bullyhood: The Truth Behind the Headlines about the Planned Parenthood Funding Battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In her interview with Fortune, Handel reiterated points she made in the book — that she had done the job at Komen she was expected to do as Vice President of Public Policy, part of which included finding ways to disengage from Planned Parenthood. She has said that priority was based on financial reasons, not political ones.

Planned Parenthood is still holding Handel — who would be the first female Republican Congresswoman from Georgia — responsible for the imbroglio, calling her an “anti-health care extremist” in a statement following the results of the first round of the election.

“Handel does not understand what’s at stake for Georgia women and families, campaigning on an extreme agenda of blocking access to care at Planned Parenthood health centers and believing government should intervene women’s health care decisions,” said Candace Fowler, a Board Chair for Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates.

In 2010, when she was running for Governor of Georgia, Handel wrote in a blog post: “Let me be clear, since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood.”

But Handel did not reiterate that sentiment when pressed Wednesday about the bill Trump signed into law this month, which allows states to withhold federal funds from Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortions. She only said the decision should be up to the state lawmakers: “That’s a state issue and our legislature will deal with it.”

 

About the Author
Alana Abramson
By Alana Abramson
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

She grew Salesforce’s team by 600% in South Asia. Meet one of India’s most powerful women
NewslettersMPW Daily
She grew Salesforce’s team by 600% in South Asia. Meet one of India’s most powerful women
By Angelica AngMay 22, 2026
2 hours ago
lucas
ConferencesWorkplace Innovation Summit
Trump’s EEOC chair is suing The New York Times because ‘we should bring it on behalf of white workers too’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
How a book convinced Arundhati Bhattacharya, one of India’s most powerful bankers, to try working for a U.S. tech company
AsiaMost Powerful Women
How a book convinced Arundhati Bhattacharya, one of India’s most powerful bankers, to try working for a U.S. tech company
By Angelica AngMay 19, 2026
3 days ago
shyam
CommentaryHealth
World Economic Forum: women’s health gets only 20% of R&D funding. We must seize this $1 trillion opportunity
By Shyam BishenMay 18, 2026
5 days ago
weld
Future of Workthe future of work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who’s going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
5 days ago
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
Successreese witherspoon
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
5 days ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
3 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
AI
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.