Difference between revisions of "Hobby Lobby"
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==About== | ==About== | ||
| − | {{ | + | [[Hobby Lobby]] (HL) is an arts-and-crafts [[retail chain]] based in [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]. It was founded by [[David Green]] in 1970 as Greco Products, a decorative frame company, on a loan of $600 which he quickly repaid. In 1972, he renamed the company Hobby Lobby and opened its first retail store in Oklahoma City.<sup>[[:File:Hobby-Lobby-Complaint-stamped.pdf|s]]</sup> As of 2010, the chain consists of 456 stores in 39 states, more than 18,000 employees, and $2.2 billion in sales. (As of 2012, this became 514 stores in 41 states with 13,240 employees.<sup>[[:File:Hobby-Lobby-Complaint-stamped.pdf|s]]</sup>) The stores are wholly-owned by the company, rather than being a [[franchise]]. |
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| + | Despite its financially-sound beginning, the company ran into debt issues in the late 1980s. They apparently made some changes as to how they handled money, and two years later they were debt-free and have never gone into debt again. | ||
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| + | Green and his family are [[evangelist]]ic Christians and believe in promoting Christianity through their business. Green, estimated by ''[[Forbes]]'' (~2010) to have a net worth of $2.6 billion, has contributed many millions of dollars to aid the evangelism movement – according to Green, more than 50 deals totalling over $300 million from 1998-2010 – including: | ||
| + | * 2004: bought an old [[Ericsson]] cellphone plant in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]] for $10.5 million and gave it to [[Liberty University]], which built a new law school on the site | ||
| + | * ~2006: paid a New York hedge fund $3.5 million for the buildings and grounds of bankrupt [[Bradford College]] in [[Haverill, Massachusetts]], invested more than $5 million in renovations, and late last year turned over the deed to [[Zion Bible College]]. | ||
| + | * 2008: contributed $70 million in cash to foundering [[Oral Roberts University]], in exchange for agreeing to a strict recovery plan devised by the Greens, and installing Green's oldest son [[Mart Green|Mart]] as its new chairman | ||
| + | * 2009: paid $22 million for a piece of property in San Juan Capistrano belonging to televangelist Robert Schuller's financially strapped Crystal Cathedral Ministries, and gave it to Pastor [[Rick Warren]]'s [[Saddleback Church]] to use as a retreat | ||
| + | * 2009: contributed over $6 million ($200k for the property, the rest in renovations) to help [[Stan Mattson]] found [[C.S. Lewis College]] in [[Northfield, Massachusetts]] | ||
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| + | Hobby Lobby has also contributed heavily to Christian charities in [[China]], where most of their products are manufactured. | ||
| + | ===Obamacare controversy=== | ||
| + | On September 12, 2012, Hobby Lobby against the US federal government over the [[Obamacare]] [[Obamacare/employer mandate|employer mandate]] to provide [[contraception]] in any [[health insurance]] offered to employees. | ||
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| + | On September 19, 2013, plaintiffs in the original case [[2014/03/25/Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.|petitioned]] the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for a [[writ of certiorari]] against Hobby Lobby. | ||
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| + | At issue are two emergency contraceptives, Plan B ({{wp/alt|Levonorgestrel}}) and Ella ({{wp/alt|Ulipristal acetate}}), which Hobby Lobby claims might cause [[abortion]]s and is therefore opposed to on religious grounds. The suit regards the question of whether employers may be required to violate their religious beliefs, or whether the 1993 [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] forbids such a requirement. | ||
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| + | This suit is ethically problematic in several ways: | ||
| + | * '''Factuality of the abortion claim''' | ||
| + | ** {{wp/alt|Levonorgestrel}} does not cause abortions (including egg-rejection) | ||
| + | *** even ''[[Health Progress]]'', the official journal of the [[Catholic Health Association]], [http://ncronline.org/news/catholic-journal-says-plan-b-does-not-cause-abortions agrees with this] | ||
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| + | * '''Hypocrisy in timing of the objection''': The insurance HL offered to its employees had already included these drugs; it was only after Obamacare mandated the inclusion of these drugs that they objected. | ||
| + | ** HL claims that the mandate caused them to do a close review of the drugs offered under the healthcare plans offered, and it was only then that they discovered the two to which they object. | ||
| + | * '''Hypocrisy in opposing abortion under Obamacare while indirectly supporting abortion in China''' | ||
| + | ** The vast majority of HL's products, though initially made by the family, are now made in China, a country notorious for human rights abuses -- including forcing members of its female workforce to have abortions. | ||
| + | *** It is unclear whether this applies specifically to the workforce which makes HL's products, or if HL has gone to any efforts to vet the manufacturers from which they purchase. | ||
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| + | There appears to be a sound basis, at least preliminarily, for the claim that Ella ({{wp/alt|Ulipristal acetate}}) might cause abortion, as it is apparently harmful to the fetus. However, it is very unlikely to do so in the doses recommended for emergency contraception. | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
===Reference=== | ===Reference=== | ||