Hobby Lobby is the latest business to be swept up in the midst of an ideological debate, with the crafting store chain getting caught in the crosshairs of the birth control mandate argument being as the company does not feel their health benefit should be extended to cover medications of which they do not approve — namely, the so-called “morning after pill.”
A mandate in the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” has sparked the debate anew as for some reason, people consider birth control to be somehow separate from other issues of which they do not approve but employees can use their health or pay packet benefits to cover — for instance, if I have a Jewish boss, can I spend some of my salary on bacon-wrapped scallops? It boggles the mind.
But when it comes to female autonomy, companies like Hobby Lobby are freaked out. Insurance infrequently covers abortion, but the post-coital method of contraception known as the morning after pill is a sticking point for many who believe the high-dose birth control pills are a very early abortion.
Putting aside the fact that abortion is not a known function of the birth control pill, Hobby Lobby has decided to fight the mandate, as their belief as a company is that regardless of science, the morning-after pill is an abortifacient, and they do not want their female employees using their healthcare benefit to pay for it.
In a teleconference with the press, David Green, founder and chief executive officer of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc, explained :
“These abortion-causing drugs go against our faith … We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate.”
Ultimately, given the female-heavy demographic of Hobby Lobby shops, their birth control stance could hit them hard in the pocketbook. Do you believe Hobby Lobby has the right to determine how a health care benefit is applied based on their religion?
