For future reading:
http://family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0026817.cfm Pampered Chef Profits Won't Fund Abortion, July 9, 2003 [excerpt]
By Steve Jordahl, correspondent
It's a tale of David and Goliath: Some businesswomen, who are also stay-at-home moms, confronted one of the richest men in history.
Tycoon Warren Buffett will no longer donate proceeds from his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate to fund pro-abortion organizations. The decision came after a group of stay-at-home moms petitioned Buffett, who happens to be one of the richest men in history.
The women are associated with The Pampered Chef — a kitchenware company owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
With an estimated fortune of $28 billion, Buffett can afford to give away a lot of money — and he does, mostly to pro-abortion causes. It's estimated that his Berkshire Hathaway Foundation gave $11 million dollars in 2002 to organizations like Planned Parenthood.
Cindy Coughlon, who is a Pampered Chef consultant, was unhappy about her profits helping to fund abortions. An article in Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine alerted other consultants, who joined in protest.
"It was having a devastating effect on Pampered Chef's business. They were losing consultants and they were losing customers as a result," Coughlon said.
She added: "I don't think God could have made this any louder or clearer. There are simply no excuses for the Christian community not to stand up and make (its) voice heard."
Buffett decided Berkshire-Hathaway will no longer fund any charities, opting instead to let subsidiaries like Pampered Chef decide what charities to support. Wendy Wright, of Concerned Women for America, is pleased with the action.
"Hurray for these ladies! What an incredible impact they had on an empire," Wright said. "It usually takes years and years of effort, and is not always successful."
Wright said this action is proof that a good moral policy can be the basis of sound financial decisions.
"These are ventures that are not only offensive to many, many people, but it does not make good business sense because he's doing away with the next generation of customers," Wright said.
Warren Buffett and Pampered Chef declined to be interviewed for this story.
The article that helped change minds in this situation is found in the June edition of Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine.