Parenthood

MY FATHER once told his four daughters that his worst enemy could walk through the front door and he would get up out of his chair and stride across the room to greet him."Everyone who comes into my home will feel welcome here," he said.My father had a chance to live up to that promise when the man who ruined his career and caused us to lose the dream house my father built came to visit.My sisters and I held our breath and watched, but saw no sign of anger or bitterness in my father's hospitality.

Facing a year of financial trouble that started with a national controversy over dropping monetary support for Planned Parenthood, Komen Maryland told its donors on Friday that the organization is $1 million short of reaching its current fundraising goal. Brittany Fowler, spokeswoman for the Maryland affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, said cancer patients and survivors in the state could lose services, such as prepared meals, breast exams and aqua therapy, if the organization misses its local $3.1 million target by the end of the current fundraising year, which closes March 31, 2013.

After a morning Mass calling attention to "every unborn child in America," Cardinal William H. Keeler led more than 700 abortion opponents in a march from St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church several blocks north to the Planned Parenthood office on Howard Street. There, the group sang and prayed for people affected by abortion: mothers, fathers, doctors and staff, and the unborn. Across the street, about 100 abortion-rights supporters staged an equally peaceful demonstration, holding "Pro Choice" and "Keep Abortion Legal" signs and singing "We Shall Overcome."

Dr. Frances H. Trimble, a gynecologist who had been medical director of Planned Parenthood of Maryland for nearly three decades, died Friday of pneumonia at Roland Park Place. She was 94. "She took Planned Parenthood from a highly criticized small organization at the time and made it into a force," said Dr. J. Courtland Robinson, who succeeded Dr. Trimble as medical director. "It was about women's rights and contraception, and she gave it the medical leadership to make it go. And it grew into a large, large organization.

CELEBRATING the opening of a new facility in Baltimore last week, Planned Parenthood of Maryland sent open-house invitations to state lawmakers. In accordance with ethics regulations, all 188 received them. A few chose to attend. The wife of one stood outside and waved a placard. Sylvia "Cookie" Harris, wife of state Sen. Andrew P. Harris, a Baltimore County Republican and the Senate minority whip, played a prominent role in a protest outside the new Planned Parenthood offices on Howard Street on Sunday afternoon.

YOU'VE GOT to admire the moxie of John Lofton. The guy doesn't even shy away from the word theocracy. I remember Lofton mainly from his 15-year stint on WJZ-TV's Square Off, which was arguably the best, and definitely the most contentious, public affairs program to appear on local airwaves. Lofton was usually there giving - quite cogently and eloquently, I might add - the conservative take on topics of the day. These days, Lofton - who calls himself "a recovering Republican" - is the co-host with 2004 Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka of the radio show American View.

On December 30, 2003, in Towson, Md. LENNA B. KALTREIDER, wife of the late Dr. D. Frank Kaltreider, and sister of Dorothy Moeller of Cockeysville, Md. Also survived by two sons, Kurt Kaltreider and D. Frank Kaltreider II and one daughter, Leigh K. McClure, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Lenna was born in Cambridge, MD on May 24, 1913. She graduated in 1935 from the School of Nursing at Union Memorial Hospital. A Memorial Reception will be held at Edenwald in Towson, MD on Sat, Jan 24 3-5 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to WBJC, 2901 Liberty Hgts.

Responding to scores of faxes sent by Planned Parenthood of Maryland about his position on abortion, a spokesman for Martin O'Malley said yesterday that the mayor is "pro-choice" and supports the state's laws on the issue. Officials at Planned Parenthood said they sent 175 letters to the mayor this week, asking O'Malley to state his position on abortion. They said because he is a possible gubernatorial candidate in this year's election, he should be willing to state his position on a prominent statewide and national issue.

You would think legislators would be embarrassed to make the kind of remarks that peppered a recent House of Delegates hearing on a bill designed to speed the process of adoption for Maryland children whose biological parents cannot or will not provide them with a home."

Marjorie D. Teitelbaum, a social worker who had visited Hiroshima after the bombing and later served as executive director of the Planned Parenthood Association of Maryland and as president of the League of Women Voters of Baltimore, died of pneumonia Saturday at Keswick Multi-Care Center. She was 86. Marjorie Danford Shively was born and raised in San Mateo, Calif., and was a longtime resident of Mount Washington. After earning her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1937, she was a caseworker for the California Relief Administration.

Connie and Nancy and I have been best friends since the seventh grade, and when the three of us get together, it is middle school all over again. Card games and board games are part of our mix, and I am happy to report that while I am no better at these games than I was nearly 50 years ago, I am much more mature about losing. I think the wine helps. I have to say, nothing prepared me for life better than Park and Shop, a board game of competitive errand-running. Not even The Game of Life, with its kids and college funds and insurance policies, got me in shape for adulthood any better than Park and Shop.

Nearly 3,600 people ran or walked in the rainy and slippery inaugural Susan G. Komen breast cancer race in Ocean City Sunday, despite early concerns that a controversy involving Planned Parenthood could hurt attendance. Breast cancer survivors, their families and supporters showed up on Ocean City 's boardwalk just after sunrise, ready to race in rain and cool temperatures. Pink was the color of the day, on everything from sneakers to bandannas and wigs. Planned Parenthood wasn't on most attendees' minds two months after Komen officials pulled funding from the national organization, then changed their minds after a public outcry.

I have to scratch my head why the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundationwas funding Planned Parenthood in the first place ("Komen's attack on abortion rights," Feb. 2). With some research suggesting an increased rate of breast cancer among those who have abortions , it seems that funding Planned Parenthood would actually be at cross-purposes with Komen's mission. Sort of like the American Cancer Association sending cash contributions to the cigarette companies. The Komen Foundation should reconsider their recent reversal, stand their ground, and promote women's breast health by stopping all funding to Planned Parenthood immediately.

The inaugural Susan G. Komen breast cancer race scheduled for Ocean City in April was meant to be a feel-good event promoting a noble cause - and a way to boost tourism during the resort town's off-season. Now uncertainty surrounds it and other Komen events in Maryland and beyond, as fallout continues from the national organization's recent decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood. Ocean City officials and Komen Maryland organizers are still planning for a crowd of 3,000 for the race that raises money for breast cancer research.

The Susan G. Komen for the Curebreast cancer advocacy and charity group backed away Friday from a plan to slash funding to Planned Parenthood programs, but the public apology might not be enough to repair its damaged image right away. Experts in public relations and crisis management said some may not be ready to accept Komen's reversal. The group said it pulled funding for Planned Parenthood because of internal policy changes, but some perceived the move as driven by political pressure from abortion opponents.

As the funding controversy swirled around Susan G. Komen for the Cure this week, much of the criticism was directed not at the group's chief executive but at a Maryland native who serves as a senior policy adviser. Karen Handel, who faced a hard-luck childhood in Prince George's County, has been painted in the media as an architect of the group's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, and many critics took aim at her background as a candidate for Georgia governor in 2010. In the Republican primary race — in which she was endorsed by both Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin — she showcased her anti-abortion philosophy and promised to cut state grants to Planned Parenthood.

IT IS easy to second-guess the wisdom of adults who permitted and, presumably, encouraged a 7-year-old to pursue her dream of becoming the youngest pilot ever to fly across the United States. It is even easier to question the decision to allow Jessica Dubroff to attempt a take-off in a light plane during a driving rain and possibly icy conditions. But none of the second-guessers has to bear the grief of her mother, Lisa Blair Hathaway, and other family members who supported the cross-country odyssey.

The Lucky Ones, by Rachel Cusk. Fourth Estate. 240 pages. $24.95. The naked truth about parenthood -- stripped of all its pleasures and precious moments -- isn't pretty. In this haunting new work, British talent Rachel Cusk (winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award) lays bare the lives of new mothers, fathers and grandparents. Billed as a novel, the book is more a collection of short stories -- loosely linked by a few forlorn characters and the overriding themes of isolation, anxiety and strained relationships.

Few organizations have done more for women's healththan both Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading supporter of breast-cancer treatment and research, and Planned Parenthood, the country's top reproductive health care provider and advocate. To see the two organizations now at war is not only upsetting to many women's health supporters but all the more tragic because it's so unnecessary. The most charitable interpretation of events would suggest that Komen was duped by anti-abortion advocates into cutting off support for breast exams at Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country.