A Chicago-area woman is accusing Office Depot of religious discrimination for refusing to make copies of her anti-Planned Parenthood fliers.
Maria Goldstein says the Office Depot employees at her local store declined to reproduce the fliers, which include a “Prayer for the Conversion of Planned Parenthood,” on the grounds of corporate policy. The company says that they welcomed Goldstein to use a self-service machine instead.
Office Depot’s corporate spokesperson Karen Denning elaborated to the Chicago Tribune, saying that corporate policy prohibits “the copying of any type of material that advocates any form of racial or religious discrimination or the persecution of certain groups of people.” The flier, she said, advocated the persecution of those who support abortion rights.
Goldstein says her documents, which she printed elsewhere and distributed at her church, were intended to convert those associated with Planned Parenthood, not persecute them. She has retained the legal services of the Thomas More Society, which describes as its mission “restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty.”
Goldstein’s lawyer, Thomas Olp, told the Tribune that he sent a letter to Office Depot Thursday asking the company to reconsider the policy. He intends to file formal complaints against the company if it refuses.