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 (''{{wp/alt|Sebelius v. 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. | ||
| + | * '''Wanting it both ways''': Obamacare does not actually require HL to provide insurance; they pay a penalty if they don't offer insurance meeting the standards required by Obamacare, but the penalty would likely be less than the cost of the insurance<sup>[[2014/02/19/Hobby Lobby Part VIII|s]]</sup> (and helps to subsidize plans for those who otherwise couldn't afford them). They could offer insurance that doesn't meet the standards and forego the penalty, or they could not offer insurance -- but they want the right to offer only substandard insurance without penalty. | ||
| + | * '''Claiming responsibility where none exists''': Even granting the premise (highly debatable) that Ella might cause abortions, the actual act of deciding to purchase and use Ella would rest with their employees. That HL considers itself morally responsible for the decisions of their employees suggests that they regard their employees as incapable of making moral decisions, and that they are more than willing to interfere with the moral convictions of their employees despite arguing that their own moral convictions must not be interfered with. (This view is essentially [[authoritarian]] in nature.) | ||
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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. | ||
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==Links== | ==Links== | ||
===Reference=== | ===Reference=== | ||