Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) has apologized for refusing to print a pro-life flyer and claiming that it was ‘hate material.’
The company’s officials have apologized to Maria Goldstein, the woman from Illinois who had requested for the flyer to be printed out. The flyer had content about fetal organ harvesting and prayer for the conversion of the Planned Parenthood abortion provider. The initials had initially thought that the flyer had “graphic content” and that it was condemning people who support abortion rights.
The woman had requested 500 copies to which were to be distributed from the Office Depot in Schaumburg to her church parish. The flyer was titled the “Prayer for the Conversion of Planned Parenthood,” and was compiled by Father Frank Pavone. The content of the flyer also included statistics referencing taxpayer funding and Planned Parenthood’s services.
The Thomas More Society claims that during her encounter at Office Depot, one of the employees told her that they could not print the flier because it would go against the company’s policy. The employee further went on to tell her that she could print the flyers out herself at the self-service copiers.
Goldstein claimed that the incident was discriminative against her especially because of her religious beliefs. The Thomas Moore Society sent a letter to the company Goldstein’s behalf notifying them of the unfair treatment. The company’s CEO and Chairman took it upon himself to reply with a statement of apology. The statement contained an apology to Goldstein and was followed up by a statement pointing out that her religious opinions did not at all influence their reaction. The statement also invited her to go back to the Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) if she wished to do so and have the order printed.
The company’s spokesperson also released a statement claiming that the company upholds a policy where it does not advocate condemnation of any specific groups. Additionally, they do not print out materials that will result in copyright infringement.
