Satanic Temple bringing legal challenges to states w/ abortion hurdles

[Buster's Uncle]

Satanic Temple to argue abortion is ritual in legal challenges to states that put up hurdles to procedure
Bradford Betz
Mon, May 9, 2022, 6:06 PM



The Satanic Temple (TST) said its adherents should be permitted religious exceptions to perform religious abortion rituals in states that have put up barriers to the controversial procedure.

Responding to a leaked Supreme Court opinion draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade, TST said it was committed to protecting "religious abortion access" for its members.

"In states that outlaw abortion but grant exceptions for instances of incest and rape," TST said in a statement, "members should be permitted a religious exception to perform TST’s religious abortion ritual."



FILE: The Baphomet statue is seen in the conversion room at the Satanic Temple where a "Hell House" is being held in Salem, Massachusett on October 8, 2019. JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images


"States that outlaw abortion and do not grant exceptions present more significant challenges, but TST has a number of plans that we will be undertaking quite soon," TST said. "First, we will be suing the FDA to permit TST access to Mifepristone and Misoprostol for use under medical supervision as part of our religious abortion ritual."

TST said it is filing the lawsuit under Federal RFRA, adding that "unfettered access" to these drugs – which are taken to terminate a pregnancy – would be a considerable step toward enabling TST to perform its abortion ritual without government interference.

The religious organization introduced the "Satanic Abortion Ritual" to argue for a religious exception under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 federal law which made it illegal for states to interfere in anyone’s religion without demonstrating a compelling interest.

TST’s argument was that if it regarded abortion as a religious ritual, then the state could not legally intervene or burden patients with prerequisites. The "ritual" argument came amid a series of lawsuits aimed at Missouri where women are, among other things, compelled to read "informed consent" booklets before going through with an abortion.

One of their arguments was that subjecting its members to these requirements violated one of its central tenets: "one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone."

The abortion ritual, according to TST’s website, involves the recitation of two of its tenets and a personal affirmation that is "ceremoniously intertwined" with the abortion.

"Because prerequisite procedures such as waiting periods, mandatory viewing of sonograms, and compulsory counseling contravene Satanists’ religious convictions, those who perform the religious abortion ritual are exempt from these requirements and can receive first-trimester abortions on demand in states that enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act," TST says on its website.

Fox News has reached out to TST for further comment and will update this story accordingly.

The leaked Supreme Court opinion draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade has ignited a firestorm across diverse faith communities.

Opponents of abortion view it as morally wrong, and in conservative Christian corners, the draft opinion has sparked hope. However. many members of minority faiths that don't prohibit abortion fear their religious freedom will be infringed upon. Some faith leaders are preparing to support women who travel to more liberal states seeking abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/satanic-temple-argue-abortion-ritual-220639328.html

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For Uno, of course.

[Elok]

I have a hard time viewing this as anything but a publicity stunt.  As the only (common today) reason to oppose abortion access is belief that it's murder, compelling state interest would apply, and there's no way to claim this is targeting Satanists specifically.  Nor are Satanists remotely sympathetic figures to anyone who would not be on their side already.  Waste of legal fees.

[Geo]

I can already read the headlines: "Satan vs Supreme Court." 

[Unorthodox]

I have a hard time viewing this as anything but a publicity stunt.

Welcome to the whole purpose of the Satanic Temple:  To shine light on laws that are religiously based in a way that is as click bait as possible. 

As the only (common today) reason to oppose abortion access is belief that it's murder, compelling state interest would apply, and there's no way to claim this is targeting Satanists specifically.

It DOES go against one of their tenets, and that 'belief' of murder is the core deeply dividing issue here.  They don't have to argue that it's targeting them specifically, just that it's hindering the practice of their religion. 

Their goal is to get exceptions for religious belief in general, not exception for the Satanic Temple specifically, so that anyone can just claim it's their religion to get an abortion and loophole around this, like some christians have done with LGBTQ rights.   

Nor are Satanists remotely sympathetic figures to anyone who would not be on their side already.  Waste of legal fees.

The members of the Satanic Temple are not Satanists.  They do not worship Satan.  In fact, they are atheist, organizing under a provocative name to get a reaction.  That said, if you believe in religious freedom, whether you find the religion in question to be sympathetic or not should not matter when it comes to the law. 

I think this is a fairly good fight for TST, a lot less petty than a lot of their things.  But that all boils down to the whole structure of the group being so decentralized in general. 

[Elok]

I'm aware that they're not actually Satan-worshippers; their whole shtick is that they're atheist trolls insincerely using the 1A as a cudgel.  Sometimes this works, as when they force public displays of crosses out of the way by insisting on equal treatment to some ugly thing from a heavy metal album cover.  When it does work, it works because the judges and other civil authorities, confronted with a choice between explaining why Satanism isn't a real religion (and thus opening the door to micromanagement of every little claim in the future) or just taking down all the displays, wisely conclude that it's better to fold.  A certain amount of trolling can be tolerated/indulged for the sake of a critically important right.

This is not such a case.  Previous rulings have made clear that you don't get to claim exemption from generally applicable laws based on religious belief.  The law can only be said to be discriminatory if it targets the religion specifically or doesn't serve a compelling government interest.  Neither can be said to apply here (denying the second part is conceding the whole field where abortion is concerned).  They might get some leverage anyway if they were sympathetic, but they're not.  Everybody who doesn't think they're actual Satanists knows they're atheist trolls making insincere petitions to game the system.  Some leftists/progressives think that's funny, but they aren't the ones who need to be convinced.

[Unorthodox]

generally applicable laws based

Which is why they're targeting states that are writing exemptions into their abortion clauses and admit the ones where there's not already an exemption are going to be problematic.  Yeah, they are trolls, but trolls with lawyers.

[Elok]

?  Not seeing anything in the OP about exemptions, and haven't heard anything to that effect.  Wait.  You mean the usual rape-and-incest loophole?  They're going to try and claim their phony religion gives them comparable pull?  Good luck with that.

[Unorthodox]

Jewish synagogue on board: 

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/florida-abortion-ban-violates-jews-religious-freedom-lawsuit-says-2022-06-14/

Florida abortion ban violates Jews' religious freedom, lawsuit says
By Brendan Pierson

June 14 (Reuters) - Florida's ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy violates the religious freedom of Jews because Jewish law requires the procedure in some cases, a Boynton Beach synagogue said in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in state court on Friday by Congregation L'Dor Va-Dor, also says that the abortion ban violates the right to privacy guaranteed by the state constitution.

"Our office is confident that this law will ultimately withstand all legal challenges," a spokesman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in an email.

The U.S. Supreme Court established a right to abortion nationwide in its landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, but a draft opinion leaked last month suggests that the court's Republican-appointed majority is poised to overturn that law.

The synagogue said Florida's law, which DeSantis signed in April, violated the state constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

"For Jews, all life is precious and thus the decision to bring new life into the world is not taken lightly or determined by state fiat," the lawsuit said. "In Jewish law, abortion is necessary if required to protect the health, mental or physical well-being of the women or for many other reasons not permitted (by Florida's law)."

The lawsuit also said that the state's constitution guarantees a right to abortion, citing an earlier ruling by the state's highest court. A group of Florida abortion providers, including affiliates of Planned Parenthood, brought a similar challenge in a separate lawsuit earlier this month. read more

Florida is one of 11 states in which high courts have recognized that the state constitutions protect abortion rights, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Other Republican-led states around the country are preparing to pass new restrictions on abortion, while some Democratic-led states have moved to pass laws protecting those who help women from other states obtain abortions. read more

Fairly sure Catholicism teaches the baby is not a 'person' until it draws breath as well, and would favor the mother's life in such cases as well, but that could have changed.  They didn't used to perform burials on consecrated grounds for miscarriages since the baby was never 'alive' and thus couldn't possibly have been baptised, anyway.   

[Geo]

Fairly sure Catholicism teaches the baby is not a 'person' until it draws breath as well, and would favor the mother's life in such cases as well, but that could have changed.  They didn't used to perform burials on consecrated grounds for miscarriages since the baby was never 'alive' and thus couldn't possibly have been baptised, anyway.   

Not from a whole bunch of Polish politicians point of view. Since late last year or early this year this country must have the strictest abortion laws in the whole Union.
Its even gone as far that Ukranian war refugee women who became pregnant after rape in their home country can't file for an abortion.

[Unorthodox]

I admit I’m30+ years out of date on my Catholicism knowledge