New Bend Hobby Lobby draws big crowds, few protesters

Hobby Lobby’s official opening in Bend isn’t until Monday, but the soft opening already is drawing big crowds. A busy parking lot Saturday at the Bend River Promenade mall showed that the controversy over employees’ access to birth control did not keep shoppers away.

“Our first day went fantastic,” said Hobby Lobby Bend Manager Jason Fenenbock.

The former Sears parking lot was packed all day, and shoppers were excited.

“Oh it was fun. We’ve been waiting for so long for this store to open up,” said Bend resident Melba Ribail.

“Amazing — I’d actually never been in one before, and we walked in and I felt like we could have spent three hours in there,” said Kristen Branan, who came to shop with her kids.

“To see it in person, it’s unbelievable,” said Connie Fennel, whose friend recommended Hobby Lobby.

Just a few feet away from the hundreds of shoppers were a few protesters — three in number — with signs, a reminder of a nationwide controversy surrounding the stores and their health insurance policies.

“Hobby Lobby is making decisions about women’s health care, and I don’t really think that’s a good idea,” said Paige Matthews, a member of the Human Dignity Coalition in Bend.

The owners of Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit, saying they did not want to be forced by the federal government to provide their employees with certain types of contraceptives that offend their religious beliefs.

In June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor, which sparked a nationwide controversy over an employer’s rights vs. women’s rights.

“The owners of Hobby Lobby have decided to impose their religious values on their employees,” said Toni Weir, who was protesting Hobby Lobby on Saturday.

Hobby Lobby is only opposing certain types of contraceptives: morning-after pills (Plan B and Ella) and hormonal and copper intrauterine devices (IUDs).

Employees still have access to birth control pills, condoms and other types of birth control, such as sterilization.

Opponents of the court ruling argue it could open the door for other corporations to opt out of birth control.

“We all deserve access to take care of our bodies the way we want to, and it is really nobody’s business,” Matthews said.

Some see the ruling as a turning tide on a woman’s right to choose.

“We have come a long way (in terms of women’s rights), and now we’re going back,” Weir said. “Roe v. Wade is in danger and I’m frightened. There are young women who have never known a world without (legal) abortion, and it’s something they may lose if they don’t get working.”