Main Body
Chapter 2 The Case of Hobby Lobby and Women’s Rights
Melinda Stanley
Below is a fictional situation. The learning outcome is for one to be able to manage a controversial/stressful situation.
The town we all live in is Holton, Indiana. There is only one major employer in the area –Hobby Lobby. The majority of the employees of the store are females. We are in economic down turn, there are not a lot of employment options currently. We do not have limitless employment choices.
We females of Holton, Indiana, are a pretty progressive group of women. We believe in personal choice. There is no more personal a commodity than health care. Sexual well-being and choice of contraceptive are things we consider important.
Read the following two articles:
Supreme Court sides with employers over birth control mandate (Links to an external site.)
5 Things Women Need To Know About the Hobby Lobby Ruling (Links to an external site.)
We are all dissatisfied with this ruling and the impact it will have on our lives. Not everyone takes birth control pills for pregnancy prevention. There is one lady in our group who was diagnosed with excessive perimenopausal bleeding. Her physician wants to do a D & C and prescribed an IUD which is a proven way to handle her health issue. For her, this is not birth control but a quality of life issue.
We have decided to reach out for help. We realize this is going to be an uphill battle but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Tasks associated with this case study:
- Who do you think we could appeal to for a potential resolution? Again, this is a purely fictional case. If you find the answer to be “a senator” just write that. New York State, a largely Catholic state, made peace with this issue. How did they do it? What talking points do you think we could use to bolster our argument? What potential emotional pitfalls do you think we will run into as we collectively try to resolve this with the company? What leadership skills could we employ to help with this?
2. Comment on the ethics of this, women’s rights. Does Hobby Lobby pay for Viagra? Does having something in place mean you are fostering it? I.e. is there evidence that alcohol being legal creates alcoholics? Do you believe this is a woman’s rights issue or a religious issue or both? Why?