Office Depot's Backlash Backtrack On Pro-Life Flyers

Earlier this month, Office Depot refused business to a pro-lifer. Maria Goldstein wanted to print flyers about abortion and Planned Parenthood, but the company said they were too graphic, contained “hate speech,” and “persecuted” abortion advocates. 

WORLD reported that Office Deport changed its mind:

Before the end of the day, Office Depot had reversed its decision and issued an apology—but not without a caveat.
…
“Upon a more detailed review, we have determined that the content of Ms. Goldstein’s flyer is not a clear violation of the company’s policy,” the release said, according to LifeNews.com.

“We sincerely apologize to Ms. Goldstein for her experience and our initial reaction was not at all related to her religious beliefs. We invite her to return to Office Depot if she still wishes to print the flyer,” Smith said in the release.

But as WORLD notes, the company’s chairman couldn’t resist reiterating its policy to refuse such material. It seems a sincere apologize would contain no zingers or caveats. An apology in this context should be personal and forgo a warning to future policy offenders.

Regardless, Office Depot said they were sorry for refusing her business on these grounds, and Goldstein can return to have her flyers printed. A commenter to the article mentioned homosexual “marriage.” Do you think Office Depot would have rejected a flyer that celebrated the redefinition of marriage and castigated the “bigots” for their intolerance?

Do you agree that this was a free speech and/or religious freedom issue?

Photo credit: cafemama (Creative Commons) – Some Rights Reserved