A Better Possession

Well, if you haven't heard by now, Hobby Lobby has 1) lost its first bid for exemption and 2) taken the high road. I mean, the really high road.

First, the original story. Hobby Lobby is a Christian-owned arts and crafts business. They are closed on Sunday. They attempt to maintain business practices consistent with their faith. They provide health insurance for their employees and pay better than most in their class. They're one of the good guys. Enter Obamacare. The president's healthcare initiative includes a clause that requires companies with health insurance to pay for contraception as part of the health coverage. As a matter of principle, David Green (owner) and family cannot in good conscience pay for contraception for their employees. So Hobby Lobby filed for an exemption. Lots of organizations got them, but Hobby Lobby was turned down because they were a business, not individuals, and businesses didn't have 1st Amendment rights.

Hobby Lobby was faced with three possible options. While they continued to pursue a legal exemption up the court chain, they could choose one of three options. They could violate their principles and, without further cost, do what they were told. They could refuse to comply and pay $1.3 million per day in fines. Or they could drop their health insurance entirely and pay a $24 million per year fine. Given that they couldn't compromise their principles, it seemed obvious that they would be putting their employees out in the health insurance cold and paying the $24 million. That was the most expedient.

As it turns out, they didn't take the most cost effective (surrender) or even the most expedient. Hobby Lobby is taking the high ground. They will refuse to pay for what their principles say they cannot while continuing to take care of their employees as best they can by retaining their health insurance. At a potential cost of nearly $475 million in fines for the year, they are going to move forward and pray that the courts will give them relief. The owners of Hobby Lobby are living out the description in Hebrews where faithful Christians "accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one" (Heb 10:34).

But ... what's all the hoopla? I mean, who really objects to contraception these days? And isn't it a "women's health" issue? Why would they feel the need to intervene? The problem is not a contraception issue. Nor is it a women's health issue. Again, this is the problem of improper labels. The Greens are not anti-contraception or anti-abortion. They are pro-life. And it isn't contraception in general that is the problem. It is specific contraception.

Despite all the information available out there, it seems like a lot of people are completely uninformed on how many contraceptive methods work. While some use the barrier method, others do not. Barriers are not a problem to the pro-life among us. The others are. The Pill, for instance, first tries to prevent ovulation (not a problem for pro-lifers). Second, however, it alters the uterine lining to make it hostile to embryos. If an embryo (read "life") does occur, the Pill prevents it from implanting in the uterus (read "abortion"). Other methods include intrauterine devices (IUDs) that, among other things, again alter the uterus to prevent implantation. The problem, then, is not "women's health", contraception, or "family planning". The problem is killing babies. (I looked up the definition of "embryo" and found some form of this as the most common: "human offspring in initial developmental stage." "Human offspring" in its initial stage is a baby.)

Hobby Lobby is not interested in preventing employees from using contraception of any kind. They aren't concerned about condoms or other barrier methods. Hobby Lobby is attempting to obey God in defending human life. Anything else you may hear is fog, smoke screen, a lie. I don't know how much the Stand with Hobby Lobby movement will accomplish, but if nothing else you can surely pray. And remember, when they are able to successfully kill babies legally and then fine an organization for refusing to support that, it should be patently clear that other freedoms are on the chopping block as well.