Letter: Why I stopped shopping at Hobby Lobby

Years ago, I liked to shop at Hobby Lobby, but I haven’t shopped there in over 10 years. I plan to avoid shopping at their new Northland Mall store when it opens. Why?

The owners, David and Barbara Green, believed strongly that they should not have to include the provision of several common forms of birth control in their health insurance plan. They took their argument to the Supreme Court and won.

Now, thousands of women who work for companies like Hobby Lobby must pay for birth control medication out of their salaries instead of having insurance cover it. This was the first time that a for-profit business was allowed to deny people basic health care access because of the company owner’s religious beliefs.

In areas of the country where women have easy and affordable access to birth control, abortion rates decrease. Are the Greens aware of this fact?

That’s not all: 3,500 ancient artifacts, including cuneiform tablets, were shipped to the United States from Iraq in boxes marked “tile samples” for Hobby Lobby and seized by customs officials in 2011. Fortunately, the materials were returned to their rightful owners in 2018.

When you spend your hard-earned money, it’s a good idea to understand the values of the people who will pocket it. They won’t be getting any of mine.

Sarah Bingaman

Dixon